December 21, 1984

A dispatch by The Associated Press on Monday from Jasper, Ala., about the crash landing of a plane, misidentified its owner and operator. It was owned by Air Resorts, a California- based charter airline, and chartered by Tennessee Valley Airways of Nashville.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1984 International American flexibility on arms control was stressed by a senior Reagan Administration official. He said Washington would be willing to negotiate its long-term missile defense plan along with seeking cuts in offensive weapons systems when talks resume with Moscow early next month. (Page A1, Column 6.) A rare U.S.-Soviet cooperative effort arranged quietly between American and Soviet scientists was reported by a psysicist at the University of Chicago. He said that an American comet-dust detector was aboard the Soviet Vega spacecraft and had been tested successfully as the craft headed toward a rendezvous with Halley's comet in 1986. (A1:3.)

Almost nothing is impossible in New York, but some things are more unlikely than others. The modern-day equivalent of the true love celebrated in traditional song isn't likely, even at this season, to be presented with partridges in pear trees and other such delights that filled the 12 days of Christmas. But it matters not a whit. There are urban pleasures and surprises equally pleasing to the eye and, in some cases, almost as esoteric that unfold only for the holiday season. All that's required is a stout heart, sturdy shoes and a nudge in the right direction.

''HOW can I help you with Giorgio today?'' With $150-an-ounce perfume and $40 cologne and a pair of $47.50 perfumed candles, that's how. It is difficult this week to walk across the main floor of Bloomingdale's and not be confronted with those opportunities by Diana Romanello, the store's enthusiastic ''fragrance representative'' for Giorgio, the Rodeo Drive boutique. This time of year, Mrs. Romanello is a very important person around Bloomingdale's. It and other retailers are in hot pursuit of the holiday shoppers who traditionally represent one-quarter of their revenues and half of their profits. In the cosmetics department, the salespeople are in full cry. And none is more aggressive than the 29-year- old Mrs. Romanello, who has been selling fragrances, on and off, for 11 years, and for the last two years has been the manager of Giorgio's department at Bloomingdale's 59th Street flagship store. ''Customers at Bloomingdale's want to be sold,'' she said, ''and I want to sell them.''

WILLIAM R. GREER Despite strong opposition from residents of Harlem, the Salvation Army won approval from the Board of Estimate yesterday to give the area a new $4 million community center. The board's vote, 11 to 0, approved a new use for the property, which the city would sell at a price yet to be agreed upon. The sale is also subject to board approval. ''This is $4 million against the community,'' said Leslie Carter, a member of the local community board, in a hearing at City Hall. ''It's a crime to come into that area where you've got more social agencies than God ever intended. Remember, an election is coming up.''