December 26, 1984

Christmas came in simple ways yesterday. In gusty winds that blew tinsel down empty streets. In children clutching toys barely unwrapped. In prayers sung in kitchens laden with food, and whispered at tables where meals had been a gift. Stores that were bursting with shoppers last weekend had become quiet shells. But tourists still walked past them, pointing to the giant red ribbon draped over Cartier's and the elaborate scenes in the windows of Lord & Taylor. The carolers who had clustered on street corners were gone, replaced by groups of children showing off their Christmas fortunes.

New York City has required housing developers using Federal subsidies to pay millions of dollars since 1979 into a program meant to restore poor neighborhoods. But an examination of city records shows that the program has paid out only a fraction of the money and that little legitimate neighborhood improvement has been accomplished. For each of the 89 federally sponsored low- and middle-income housing projects built in the city in the last five years, the city program was supposed to produce a plan for a park, a ball field or other amenities nearby. But only two plans have been carried out - a vest-pocket children's park on Decatur Avenue in the Bronx, and the renovation of two buildings in another Bronx neighborhood. To spend the money collected from developers, the City Department of Housing Preservation and Development designates local community groups. In one case, the leader of a Bronx community group walked away with the money and has not been found. In other cases, groups approved by the department have turned out to be shams, with no members, no financial records and bogus mailing addresses.

The Voice of America has signed agreements with five countries to improve its transmitting ability and is also pressing Israel for permission to set up equipment there to broadcast to Soviet Central Asia and Afghanistan, Administration officials said today. Under a $1.5 billion program, the Voice of America, the broadcasting arm of the United States Information Agency, has been seeking to improve its equipment and expand its broadcasting reach throughout the world, the officials said. The Reagan Administration has said the modernization is needed to replace decades-old transmitters and to catch up with purported advantages enjoyed by the Soviet broadcasting service, Radio Moscow. The addition of transmitters, particularly closer to the Soviet Union, is aimed at overcoming the jamming carried on by the Soviet Union and its allies, the officials said.

Nora Sayre, a former film critic for The New York Times and the author of ''Running Time: Films of the Cold War'' and ''Sixties Going on Seventies'' is working on a book about the 1950's. As December dwindles, there may be an unwillingness to let go of a year, if it has been a good one, or a rush of relief when a painful year is over. Final holidays can also be a reminder that much of the future is not under one's control. Of course New Year's Eve varies its meaning at different times in our lives: Early on, it's an occasion for observing older people; later, we may find that it signifies closeness to others or relish for seclusion. For me, it has often raised questions about several kinds of freedom and conflicting concepts of pleasure.

At the beginning of last week, top executives of the Phillips Petroleum Company convened their investment bankers and lawyers in New York to find a way to fend off T. Boone Pickens, the Texas corporate raider who was attempting to wrest control of the company. By the time Phillips and Mr. Pickens came to terms last Sunday after a weekend of difficult telephone negotiations, a complex and novel deal had been crafted. But those familiar with its evolution say it was the only feasible way to protect Phillips employees, get rid of Mr. Pickens and his Mesa Partners, and benefit Phillips's other shareholders, at least to some extent. In fact, some analysts think the deal may become a model for the financial restructuring of other oil companies that have somewhat lackluster records but do not want to be swallowed up. ''It's a lot more important than just a partial success for Boone Pickens,'' said Alan Edgar, an oil analyst with Schneider, Bernet & Hickman Inc. in Dallas. ''It has some far-reaching ramifications. There are other companies out there that are going to get exposed to this blueprint, either voluntarily or involuntarily.''