July 16, 2006 | 8:00 p.m

Gargano Responds

To the Editor: Your paper’s editorial “Moynihan’s Grand Vision” [July 3-10], in which you criticize Governor George Pataki for moving forward with Moynihan Station, demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of the independent importance of the project. Your description of the developers’ proposal seems to suggest that it is in more than a speculative stage. To the contrary, if a substantive proposal were to be submitted to the city and the state, it would be at least a year and a half before legally required public approvals could be finalized. Compare that to Moynihan Station, which has funding, enormous public and political support, and final approvals expected by the end of summer, and it makes sense for Governor Pataki to go forward. In fact, further delay could jeopardize funds already earmarked, which in some cases have been idle for years. And let’s not forget how useful Moynihan can be to the existing Penn Station right now. By accommodating anywhere from 20 percent to 33 percent of the commuter traffic currently forced through Penn Station’s existing cramped quarters, 100,000 to 200,000 people a day can flow through Moynihan without needing to go through Penn Station. As the primary gateway to our city, the new Moynihan Station has the potential to affect more New Yorkers, commuters and visitors than any other project underway or contemplated. With its elegant new design, it will be a public-works project worthy of its namesake—regardless of what happens to the Farley Annex. They’re not mutually exclusive possibilities. Charles A. Gargano Chairman and Commissioner Empire State Development Corporation Manhattan O Celia, You’re Breaking My Heart To the Editor: I don’t understand why journalists still lionize Celia Farber and give her an outlet for her denialist preachings [“AIDS Anarchist Farber Hops Back in Whirlwind,” Sheelah Kolhatkar, July 3-10]. It’s one thing for an uninfected person to deny that AIDS is caused by a virus and that drugs don’t fix it. However, would denialists be so fervent in their denial if they were actually infected? In my opinion, the denialists are fifth columnists who spread misinformation and twist the facts in order to undermine the war on AIDS. Fifth columnists weren’t tolerated in the Second World War. As such, whether it is from a soapbox on Fifth Avenue or in a respected journal such as The New York Observer, denialists do not have the right to express their views. Please recognize Celia Farber for the obsessive-compulsive person she clearly is and don’t give her any more coverage. Mario Stevenson, Ph.D. Worcester, Mass. Blond Bimbo Clowns To the Editor: Was it a slow news week this week? Something to do with the Fourth of July? How could you waste a page and a half on an interview with that blond bimbo clown, Ann Coulter ["Ann Coulter Ecstatic: Enemies Stoke Sales—‘They’re Like My Pets,’George Gurley, July 3-10]. I gag just typing her name. Dante wrote about the nine rings of hell, but that was before the appearance of our B.B.C., A.C. There’s a 10th ring for her and her alone. The next time you’re deciding what to print, remember Ben Franklin’s words of wisdom: “Waste not, want not.” Tom Rodeheaver Manhattan