To the Editor:

Helen Ritter (letter, Dec. 2) complains about the noise babies sometimes make in movie theaters. My son, who is the father of a 1-year-old, tells me that some movie theaters in Seattle have ''crying rooms,'' soundproof rooms (the movie audio is piped in) from which parents accompanied by babies can watch the movies without disturbing the rest of the audience. Perhaps it would be a good idea for New York's movie theaters to emulate.

JUDITH A. HANDELMAN

Scarsdale, N.Y., Dec. 2, 1997