“The Cowardly Bully” (Editorial, Feb. 23) is a rash distortion of the health-care debate.

When money is taken from our already fragile health-care system, it hurts not only patients and workers but also local communities. The imminent closure of two Queens hospitals will cost the community 4,000 full-time jobs and leave the borough nearly 500 hospital beds short of the minimum needed.

Further cuts are a scary proposition, and our campaign is intended to educate New Yorkers on the real, human, impact these cuts would have if they are enacted. The answer to this serious threat isn’t a publicity stunt; it is a serious discussion about rolling back these dangerous cuts. Unfortunately, neither state Health Commissioner Richard Daines nor The Post is ready to have that discussion.

George Gresham

President, 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers, East Manhattan