News Of the Neighborhoods
COMPILED BY LIZ GOFF

'Elf' Identification Required

Volunteers answering letters from needy youngsters for the U.S. Postal Service must present photo ID and sign a waiver promising to safeguard the kids' personal information.

Postal officials said the requirements are necessary because the volunteers have access to the kids' names, addresses and telephone numbers.

Post Office spokesperson Pat McGovern said the agency has never had any negative incidents in past years. "We have always been able to safeguard the writers' personal information," McGovern said. "We hope to keep it that way."

Under the program, volunteers sort through letters at specified U.S. Postal Service locations and pick one or more letters to "answer" with a gift from Santa.

Queens volunteers may sign up for the annual "Letters" program at the main Post Office in Flushing. For additional information on the program, including dates and times for registration, visit www.uspostalservice.gov.

Letters will be available for pickup by volunteers starting December 3.

Queens Historian Brings Israel Vote Back To The Future

Queens historian David Oats, who possesses a wealth of Queens history and memorabilia, recently reached into the borough's past for some rare footage of the 1947 United Nations vote that established the state of Israel.

Oats said he plans to screen the fiveminute clip before an audience at the Young Israel of Hillcrest synagogue on November 29 - the 60th anniversary of the landmark decision.

Oats said he obtained the clip in the late 1980s from Israeli diplomat Abba Eban while Eban was visiting the former U.N. headquarters site at Flushing Meadows- Corona Park.

Oats, who is also president of the Flushing Meadows-Corona Park Association, said a U.N. worker shot the black-and-white footage, focusing on a podium where Assistant Secretary General Andrew Cordler banged his gavel to restore order in the midst of applause that followed the creation of the state of Israel.

"It's a fantastic, very dramatic story," Oats said. "And it happened right here in Queens."

Oats said he agreed to give Eban a tour of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in the late 1980s, when Eban was narrating part of a documentary on the United Nations. "He turned out to be a great guy, really down to earth," Oats said.

Eban obviously formed a like impression of Oats and sent a reel containing the clip to the Queens activist a few weeks later.

The Young Israel of Hillcrest synagogue is located at 169-07 Jewel Ave., Flushing. For information on the screening, call 718-969- 2990.

Buckle Up, Baby

Parents heading over the river and through the woods for holiday celebrations with family and friends are reminded to keep child safety at the top of their list of things "to do".

One of the most important aspects of auto safety is making sure children are properly buckled up, child experts said.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), at least one in four child car seats is used incorrectly. Local studies suggest that as many as 80 to 90 per cent of car seats may be misused.

The NHTSA is bringing back its national "Project Safe-Baby" program, designed to increase correct use of child car seats and help families ride safely this holiday season and all year long.

Before you put the key in the car ignition, check to avoid some of the most common mistakes in child car seat use:

• Make sure children or infants are seated in rear-facing seats.

• Make sure children are secured in the safety seat harness- not the auto seat belt.

• The car seat, not the child, should be secured by the seat belt.

Remember, children are particularly vulnerable to accidents involving inflation of air bags, or if in car seats placed on the front seat of a vehicle.

Experts recommend: before you head out to Grandma's this holiday season, remember to buckle up those you love most- those who are most vulnerable.