The National Flood Insurance Program, which provides subsidized insurance to property owners in high risk flood zones, was to have expired on Sept. 30 - but won't. Congress passed a one-year extension for it last week, to Sept. 30, 1998, and President Clinton is expected to sign it.

The Senate has passed a five-year extension, but the House has yet to act on that.

Senator Alfonse M. D'Amato, who chairs the Senate Banking Committee, sponsored the legislation.

Of the 85,000 New York State policyholders covered by the national flood insurance, Suffolk County has the most with 22,685. Of those, 1,576 are in East Hampton Town, 164 of those in East Hampton Village. Southampton Town policy holders number 2,695, Southampton Village, 322.

The flood insurance program, to which 3.5 million policy holders nationally pay $1.3 billion a year in premiums, is administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

AMAGANSETT

Blossner to Robert and Patricia O'Brien, Pond Park Place, $161,000.

BRIDGEHAMPTON

Barclay to David and Patricia Hansen, Rose Way, $400,000.

Gounaris to Susan Della Corte, Widow Gavits Road, $280,000.

Bridgehampton Sanford House L.P. to George Biondo (trustee), Montauk Highway, $1,050,000.

Woodridge Homes Bldrs. Corp. to Kelly Langberg, Sea Farm Lane, $267,500.

EAST HAMPTON

Kennedy to Y Pay More Inc., Three Mile Harbor Road, $300,000.

Nanigian to Herbert Schmertz, Chestnut Way, $550,000.

Garner estate to Beverly Ainsworth, Dayton Lane, $373,000.

Cuppett to Sheryl Egol, Centre Way, $200,000.

Wald to Harvey Miller, Route 114, $425,000.

MONTAUK

Rice to Joan Capalbo, Fairfield Drive, $200,000.

Ahmad to A-Bissel Holdings Inc., Upland Road, $240,000.

NORTH HAVEN

Sartoris to Christopher Tellefsen, South Ferry Road, $330,000.

NORTHWEST

Tabin to Carol Ientile, Gunpowder Lane, $362,500.

DePauw to Shellie Caplan, Bull Path, $215,000.

NOYAC

Law Bros. Homes Inc. to Raymond and Denise McCarthy, Peninsula Drive, $157,000.

SAG HARBOR

Fleischman to CJMR Realty Assoc. L.L.C., Glover Street, $300,000.

MacNamara to Michael and Elspeth Sladden, Redwood Road, $475,000.

Bellini to Dennis and Patricia Brophy, Woodvale Street, $175,000.

SPRINGS

Lombardi to Frederick and Camille Kleinsteuber, Underwood Drive, $165,000.

Jacobsen to Kathleen Pratt, Fireplace Road, $212,000.

WATER MILL

Castrovinci to Bertrand and Catherine Saliba, Winding Way, $283,000.

Paul Forsberg has vowed to continue his fledgling casino cruises despite being pushed farther offshore - from 3 to 12 miles - on Friday, following a ruling by the top Federal prosecutor for the Eastern District of New York.

"We're going the 12 miles. We had 55 people on Saturday night. The weather has been great. It was beautiful over the weekend," Captain Forsberg said Monday.

He acknowledged that weather, given the new limit, was a greater consideration, but said he would not change his plans for this fall - he intends to stop sailing by Nov. 1 - or next summer.

"Absolutely. Positively. We'll be starting in the spring, May or June, 12 miles, 3 miles, no difference," said Mr. Forsberg.

Twelve Miles Out

United States Attorney Zachary W. Carter determined last week that offshore gambling belonged nine miles beyond the state's three-mile boundary, under legislation passed by Congress last year to deter crime and terrorism.

Prior to the decision, Captain Forsberg's Viking Starliner was running offshore just outside the state's three-mile boundary, where those on board could play the slots, blackjack, poker, and roulette that are forbidden in New York State.

The skipper questioned the U.S. Attorney's decision this week, saying it was prompted by complaints from New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, under pressure from political contributors with gambling interests in places like Atlantic City.

Giuliani Sought Ruling

Mr. Carter's interpretation of the 1996 amendment to Title 18 of the U.S. Code was prompted by a letter from Mayor Giuliani, expressing concern about the interest in running gambling cruises from New York and asking for a determination.

Mr. Giuliani has said the danger of infiltration by organized crime outweighed any economic benefits to the city.

It all began last December when the floating casino Liberty I began cruises out of Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn. Since then, New York City has reportedly received over 30 inquiries from other companies wishing to use Brooklyn, Staten Island, and Long Island docks for the purpose.

The Starliner's "cruise to no where" began on Sept. 12.

Confident Captain

Bill Muller, a spokesman for Mr. Carter, said the 12-mile interpretation had been made in cooperation with the racketeering section of the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C.

"The [Federal] gambling statute refers to territorial limits, and they are defined as 12 miles," Mr. Muller said.

Mr. Carter's decision affects only vessels in his jurisdiction: Long Island, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island. A similar interpretation has not been made nationwide.

Whose Waters?

Captain Forsberg said he thought the decision would be reversed. He pointed out that Florida gambling boats continue to operate legally just beyond the three-mile state limit.

"They've been doing it for six years," he said. "It's not an illegal act. If it's not Federal waters outside three miles, what is it?"

Mr. Carter's ruling will not withstand the scrutiny of the courts, Mr. Forsberg predicted. "Can you imagine all the lawyers?"

The issue will be put to Amagansett voters on Dec. 9: Should the Amagansett School District purchase a parcel on Meeting House Lane, adjacent to the school, for an amount "not to exceed $170,000"?

The purchase will "provide greater flexibility in the design of future expansion of the school building," according to John Courtney, the School District's attorney, who reviewed the resolution with the School Board on Oct. 7. It has been discussed at recent board meetings and at meetings of the school's long-range planning committee.

"General Purposes"

The board chose not to include in the proposition a covenant restricting the use of the property, although members of the Amagansett Citizens Advisory Committee and Meeting House Lane residents had expressed concern that it might be used for school bus exits and parking. The citizens' groups had suggested a restrictive covenant.

Instead, board members said, the property will be used "for general school purposes," to be determined in conjunction with the development of the expansion.

Though board members chose not to limit the property's use, efforts will be made, they said, to keep school traffic off Meeting House Lane, and to use the property in concert with community wishes.

The board voted to levy, over 20 years, a tax to finance the purchase, rather than deplete an existing reserve fund, as had been discussed.

December Deadline

A daylong public information session will be scheduled for late November, before the vote. The owners of the parcel, the heirs of the late State Senator MacNeil Mitchell, have set a Dec. 31 deadline for the purchase; after that date the price may go up.

The school's long-range planning committee will turn now to plans for a proposed addition, a project that will require another public vote, after July 1, 1998.

Also last week, the board reviewed the school's computer program, before deciding to spend almost $20,000 next year to buy new computers and printers.

A drug sweep orchestrated by East Hampton, Southampton, and New York State police last Thursday resulted in the arrests of 12 persons on an assortment of narcotics charges.

A three-month investigation involving drug buys by undercover police culminated in a pre-dawn roundup of those indicted, starting around 5 a.m. Teams of officers spread out to Southampton Village, Bridgehampton, Sag Harbor, and East Hampton to make the arrests.

Like the major "Save Our Streets" sweep a year ago in Riverhead and Southampton, which resulted in the arrests of 72 people, last week's "Operation South Fork" was specifically targeted at street-level drug-dealing.

Two Were In Jail

In a press release hailing the arrests, Southampton Town police said they would "impact significantly on local street operations, which are the greatest source of complaints from frustrated area residents."

Two of those indicted last Thursday were already in jail on other charges, including 17-year-old James E. Street of the Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike, who was charged with nine counts each of third-degree criminal sale and third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance - the most among the 12 defendants.

He was presented with the charges at the county jail in Riverhead, along with Terrell Richardson, 31, of Southampton, charged with two counts of third-degree sale and possession. Mr. Richardson has been in jail since July.

Four In Sag Harbor

Operation South Fork also netted one East Hampton man, David Wilson, 37, of Springs-Fireplace Road. He was awakened at his house by a team of eight police officials, including two state police investigators and six East Hampton Town officers and detectives.

He was charged with third-degree possession and third-degree sale of a controlled substance.

Four of the 12 arrests sprang from a 7 a.m. visit to one Sag Harbor house. A team had gone to a house on Carroll Street to arrest Kevin S. Street, 33, on an indictment warrant. Checking the house, they allegedly found three of his housemates to be in possession of smoking paraphernalia with traces of cocaine.

Charged with seventh-degree possession of a controlled substance were Adrienne M. Drake, 26, Christopher Page, 40, and Debra Lynn Topping, 32.

Possession And Sale

Kevin Street was charged with third-degree possession and third-degree sale of a controlled substance, based on the warrant, as well as another count of seventh-degree possession for allegedly having a crack pipe and small glass jar with cocaine residue at the time of the arrest.

Others charged with third-degree criminal sale and possession in last week's sweep were Javon P. Harding, 20, of Southampton (two counts); Randall T. Davis, 28, of Huntington Crossway, Bridgehampton (four counts); Vincent Wilson, 30, of Southampton (two counts), and Alvin Walker, 44, of Southampton (four counts).

Another defendant, 36-year-old Warren D. White of the Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike, Bridgehampton, turned himself in to police last Thursday. He had an active warrant for three counts of third-degree possession and sale.

State Operation

Though East Hampton Town police made only one arrest within the town, the department participated in the investigation, contributing one of its detectives for undercover work, sharing information, and assisting in the sweep.

Det. Lieut. Edward Ecker of the town police said the drug sweep was coordinated largely by state police, who run a narcotics branch out of Farmingdale.

State police also participated in last year's sweep in Riverhead and Southampton and in a drug sweep in Montauk and East Hampton a month later that netted 14 more arrests.

"During the winter, [state police] decided maybe East Hampton and Southampton should get together on something," Lieutenant Ecker said.

Several of those arrested, he explained, had been targets of an earlier town police investigation while residents of the Whalebone Village apartments on Accabonac Highway in East Hampton.

A fan seeking solace from an 0-5 varsity season attended the East Hampton-Westhampton High School junior varsity football game Monday, and rediscovered joy as Ed McGintee's charges handed the jayvee Hurricanes a 38-22 defeat.

McGintee had not wanted the visitors to get into East Hampton's end zone once that morning, though they managed to do so three times. No matter. The game was never really in question. But once the young Bonackers went up 30-8 in the fourth quarter, they got a little sloppy.

In the final minutes, a Bonac defender tipped a pass into the hands of an alert Westhampton receiver, who ran with the ball into the end zone, and the touchdown was followed by a two-point run. A subsequent bobbled onside kick led to another Hurricane drive, capped by an 11-yard scoring pass that brought the insurgents to 30-22. The point-after kick, happily, was off the mark, and a few moments later, a 35-yard touchdown scamper by Jesse Shapiro, the third TD for him that morning, nailed down the lid.

Knows When To Cut

Shapiro, a back who knows when to cut, got East Hampton off on the right foot with a 41-yard touchdown in the first quarter. The point-after attempt by Kyle Russell, about whom more later, did not lack for distance, but was wide right.

The teams traded interceptions when the second quarter began, causing McGintee to remonstrate with his quarterback, David Rattiner: "David, get some air, plant your feet and throw the ball. We're keeping 'em in the football game."

Not long after, a Westhampton receiver pulled down a long, arcing pass in a crowd, and ran to the East Hampton four before he was brought down. With a third-and-goal at the six-inch line, the visitors managed to get on the scoreboard. A two-point run put them up 8-6.

But not to worry. Shapiro gave the lead back to the Bonackers with about two-and-a-half minutes remaining until the halftime break by way of an explosive 70-yard touchdown run that Steve Scholl assured with a fine block of the last defender.

Second Of Five Sacks

This time, East Hampton got its extra points as Scholl bulled his way into the end zone for 14-8. Brian Noble, a defensive end from Bridgehampton, recorded the second of his game-high five sacks at the East Hampton 30 just before halftime.

Russell, a tackle on defense and tight end on offense, proved himself to be practically unstoppable as, after catching the kickoff that opened the second half, he shrugged off a gang of tacklers at around the 30, and fought his way for 10 more yards before being brought down.

Following an exchange of punts, East Hampton launched its third touchdown march from its 32. Shapiro began it with back-to-back carries of 13 and 19 yards, after which Rattiner kept for 12, and combined with Russell on a 13-yard pass play. As the fourth quarter began, Nick Dombkowski, the fullback, ran the ball in from the 11, and Shapiro added two more points for 22-8.

"This is more fun," a Bonac football fan said to McGintee as he paced the sidelines. "I'm a little animated myself," came the reply.

Dashiell Marder's interception set up the jayvee's fourth score, a 30-yard strike from Rattiner to Russell that Shapiro followed up with a two-point run. It was at that point that the home team, whose record improved that day to 2-3, became a little too loosey-goosey for its coach's liking.

Well over 100 anti-abortion advocates organized by the Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre stood across Hampton Road from Hampton Gynecology and Obstetrics Saturday, chanting "Hail Marys" for the unborn and carrying banners calling for a boycott of the Southampton doctors. On the lawn in front of the clinic, half as many pro-choice activists took part in a counterdemonstration.

Hampton Gynecology has frequently been the target of right-to-life protests over the years, but Saturday's gathering was one of the largest in recent memory.

Those participating in the Catholic Diocese's "mass and rosary procession for life" Saturday held up signs proclaiming, "Doctors are for healing not for killing," "Pray to end abortion," and "Let's face it. Legalized abortion is legalized murder."

After Mass

The Catholic Diocese leads these "processions for life" at clinics and hospitals all over Long Island. A mass before the procession Saturday was held at Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary Catholic Church in Southampton and was led by the Rev. Paul Dahm, the chaplain at Good Samaritan Hospital in West Islip. It was sponsored jointly by Sacred Hearts and Our Lady of Poland, another Southampton Catholic church.

Members of each of the Catholic parishes on the South Fork participated. There were people from East Hampton, Bridgehampton, South ampton, and Westhampton. Nassau County District Attorney Dennis Dillon was there Saturday with a small contingent of people from western Long Island. "I go to every one I can," he said. He estimated Saturday's crowd to be between 300 and 400 strong, although other estimates were closer to 100.

After mass, participants drove to Southampton Town Hall and walked from there to Hampton Gynecology.

"A Peaceful Vigil"

The church doesn't like to characterize a gathering like Saturday's as a protest. "It's a peaceful prayer vigil for the respect of life, to pray for the babies, for the hope that somehow the clinic will realize what it is doing is wrong," said Corinne Lok, an assistant in the Office of Family Ministry at the Diocese of Rockville Centre.

Mrs. Lok said the diocese had stepped up its pro-life vigils this year and now holds rosary processions every month at "abortion facilities."

Hampton Gynecology and Obstetrics offers routine gynecological care, prenatal care, and family planning services. Doctors on staff there do perform abortions, but not at the Hampton Road facility.

The dates and times of the rosary processions are posted in "Pro-Life News," a monthly newsletter of the Long Island Coalition for Life. Pro-choice advocates who subscribe to the publication under false names try to keep abreast of when and where the prayer vigils are planned. A subscription also tips them off to other plans right-to-life groups have on Long Island. The October newsletter, for example, asks subscribers to call if they've received Planned Parenthood literature concerning an upcoming "Teen Health Conference."

"A Real War"

"This is really a war," said Marilyn Fitterman, a former president of the New York State National Organization for Women. Ms. Fitterman believes the right-to-life groups are practicing politics through the pulpit, and their increasing presence and broadening of tactics make her fear for the future of women's rights. "We say 'keep your rosaries off our ovaries.' "

Ms. Fitterman, a mother of five, almost died from an illegal abortion in 1964 after becoming pregnant for a sixth time. That was the beginning of her activism. On Saturday, the Jewish Holy Day, Yom Kippur, she spoke through a megaphone telling the crowd across the street that she thinks God is pro-choice.

Along with Melissa Arch Walton, the president of East End NOW, and Sandy Rapp, a feminist folk singer and activist, Ms. Fitterman helped organize Saturday's counter-demonstration at the last minute after learning of the Catholic group's plans. The pro-choice contingent, which had been "unofficially invited" by Hamptons Gynecology, arrived early in the morning to secure a spot on the same side of the road as the clinic. The right-to-life group arrived later, following mass, and took a spot across the road from the Hamptons Gynecology.

'Many Have Perished'

The pro-choice group, some carrying guitars, sang Ms. Rapp's song, "Remember Rose: A Song for Choice," while the larger crowd across the street said the rosary in unison. One man knelt on the ground, praying, and passing cars honked in support of one side or the other. The clinic was open during part of the demonstration, but closed early in the afternoon.

"The whole point is that women who can't afford or welcome another child into the family will do anything to abort and indeed many have perished," Ms. Rapp said.

Peg Jordan, a Sacred Hearts parishioner who helped set up Saturday's rosary procession, said that the right-to-life groups believe not only in saving the unborn, but in helping mothers and families to get on their feet after an unexpected pregnancy.

'In A Quiet Manner'

"We don't want anybody to be lost," she said yesterday. "If a young girl is pregnant and unmarried we help her learn parenting skills and take care of her . . .We do an awful lot to help and keep people off welfare."

Ms. Jordan pointed, in particular, to the efforts of Birthright, a pro-life agency based in Hampton Bays that offers counseling and other services to expectant mothers. Birthright is staffed by volunteers and, though not connected to the Catholic Church, does receive support from it. If a mother chooses to offer her newborn for adoption, Birthright can also help on this front. But adoption in general, said Ms. Jordan, "is getting less and less because more and more babies are getting killed . . . fetus means 'little one' not just a little blob of nothing."

The Catholic right-to-life groups "don't go out yelling and screaming," Ms. Jordan said. "We believe prayer is the best thing. We can do things in a quiet manner."

There was some uncertainty 50 years ago, as the 300th anniversary of the founding of East Hampton approached, about just when the great event should properly be observed.

Going by the earliest entry in the town records (except for one involving Gardiner's Island), the tercentenary would come the following year, 1948. On the other hand, the 19th-century historian Henry P. Hedges, in his definitive "History of East Hampton," had pronounced the date of settlement to be 1649. If that were so, the ceremonies would have to be put off a year.

Who was right?

A committee of Long Island scholars, combing early documents for the source of the discrepancy, finally sleuthed it out - a typographical mistake in an early state almanac. Later publications had faithfully copied the incorrect date, and generations of East End children were thereafter taught it in classrooms.

Ready To Go

Let it be said straight off that there is no such indecision about the town's 350th anniversary. It will be commemorated in 1998, starting almost as soon as the new year does and continuing to January 1999.

A host of activities, including an inaugural party, a yearlong lecture series, the publication of commemorative books and historical maps, a parade, and a three-month exhibit at Guild Hall and Clinton Academy, are planned.

In addition, just about every one of the town's citizens' committees, veterans' groups, historical societies, school districts, and environmental organizations have projects in the works.

The parade, according to its just-appointed chairman, James Brooks of East Hampton, will be unlike any seen here since 1948.

Pageantry Planned

More of a pageant than a progression, it will feature various colorful characters of yore and lore - Fishhooks Mulford, Goody Garlick, Stephen Talkhouse, Captain Kidd, possibly a mounted contingent of Rough Riders - who will not only march but mingle with the crowd.

On parade day, Oct. 10, the plan is to close Main Street to traffic all day long, offer free guided tours of the street's landmarks, get the windmills working, and use East Hampton Village's new shuttle buses to ferry the onlookers.

At Guild Hall that same day, a major show on old East Hampton, beginning with Montauk Indian artifacts, will open. Furniture, silver, jewelry, letters, wills, account books, paintings, town records and documents, maps, and items both decorative and utilitarian will be among the objects. The earliest colonial material, dating mostly from 1776 to 1800, will be housed across the street at Clinton Academy.

Inaugural Event

If all goes according to plan, the year's events will commence on Jan. 3, 1998, with an all-day open house at Guild Hall. Rumor has it that a film of the 1948 parade, long missing, has been found - the one starring a teenaged Trevor Kelsall wrestling with a greased pig - and if that is true, it will be given several showings.

In addition, artwork by the Moran family will be on view, a school chorus may perform, and Bruce Collins, chairman of the 350th anniversary celebration, will proclaim the commemorative proceedings to be officially under way.

At least once each month throughout the year, there will be a lecture on some aspect of the town's history. The speakers will be a varied lot, including the Connecticut State Historian (East Hampton was part of Connecticut in the 1660s), and their subjects range from the political influence of early Presbyterian ministers to the coming of the Long Island Rail Road.

Top Talks

Paul Goldberger will talk on local architecture, the curator of Del a ware's Winterthur Museum will discuss the Dominy family of clockmakers, and the man who built a replica of the Amistad for Mystic, Conn., Quentin Snedecor, will speak about the mutiny aboard that 19th-century slave ship - also the subject of a soon-to-be-released Steven Spiel berg film.

The collected lectures are to be published as a book in February 1999. The official anniversary volume, "East Hampton: 350 Years," written by Averill Dayton Geus and illustrated with photographs from her collection and those of other old families, is scheduled for publication in October 1998.

A photographic calendar is being issued in January to help people keep track of all the doings; Doreen Niggles of East Hampton is putting it together. In addition, a souvenir map of the town with historic sites highlighted is in preparation. Streetwise, the Amagansett company, will produce it under the supervision of Barbara Borsack.

On Film

Video projects, too, are under way in conjunction with the festivities. The Autumn Project aims to interview and tape some East Hampton residents whose lives and memories go back the longest. Capt. Milton L. Miller Sr., the Springs bayman, was the first to be taped by Julia C. Mead, The Star's news editor, and Kyril Bromley for this undertaking, to be aired on LTV.

Also, Victor Teich has proposed to film a television documentary of the Town, from the "Ice Age to the Present," covering geology and early history and emphasizing the history of the 19th and 20th centuries. Genie Henderson would write the film and Eli Wallach would narrate it.

Other plans in the works include a treasure hunt, a theatrical production on the life of John Howard Payne of "Home, Sweet Home" fame, and the raffling of a historic quilt completed this year by Water Mill craftswomen.

Fifty-Two Parts

This newspaper will play its part - 52 parts, to be exact. Each week during the year, The Star will devote a page to the observances, with memoirs from invited contributors, photos of vanished buildings, interviews with the lecturers, features of historic interest, and news of the week's goings-on.

East Hampton Town and Village have provided some support for the anniversary events, but the bulk of it will have to come from individuals and businesses. Thomas A. Twomey, who is in charge of fund-raising, sent out his first letter to prospective underwriters a few weeks ago.

"The purpose of these events," he reminded them, "is to educate young and old alike on the origins of the town so as to inspire future generations to preserve the heritage we have all come to know is so unique. . . . Please help us celebrate the 350-year history of our community - one of the oldest in the country."

It's not supposed to be fair to review a restaurant until it's been open at least a month. A new dining spot deserves a grace period, time to iron out the kinks and smooth the rough edges, before going under the reviewer's microscope.

We tried to give Peconic Coast, a new restaurant on Montauk Highway in East Hampton, a full 31 days to warm up, but the buzz was just too loud. The proprietors, Dede McCann and Dennis MacNeil, formerly of the Laundry, have been somewhat renowned on the local culinary scene for making even the average patron feel like a member of the royal family.

So, we broke the rules. We couldn't wait. Sorry.

We'll Go Back

When we set out for the restaurant Friday night, we were prepared to suspend judgment, at least a little. "Don't expect too much, they just opened," I cautioned. "If it's really not good, we'll just go somewhere else tomorrow and come back next month."

Next month it will be. But we'll also go back next week and maybe the week after that and, probably, as often as our pocketbooks will allow.

The restaurant is in the building that most recently housed Duke's restaurant. In past incarnations, it also was home to Little Rock Rodeo and the Royal Fish. It had almost fallen off East Hampton's restaurant map until Ms. McCann, who manages the front of the house, and Mr. MacNeil, the chef, stepped in to make it their own.

In their case, making a place their own seems to mean one and the same as making it feel like a second home to their customers. The service staff, from hostess to busperson, is attentive without doting; the place is comfortable but lively, and the food, oh, the food!

How Many Ways?

How many ways can you say delicious? The baked clams with chorizo sausage and sweet peppers were succulent and tasty. The mission figs rolled in Parma prosciutto and drizzled with a delicate balsamic glaze were delectable, the lobster, avocado, shiitake, and tomato tian was dynamic, and the breast of Muscovy duck was inspired. But, I'm getting ahead of myself.

First to arrive at the table is a basket of piping hot sourdough rolls to munch on while you try to choose just one appetizer and one entree from the menu and convince everyone else at the table to order the other dishes you'd like to try.

One person among us couldn't decide on a single appetizer so ordered four, but passed on an entree. Of the five appetizers we sampled, the lobster tian was the most interesting.

High Marks

A tian, for those who haven't read Miriam Ungerer's recent description in these pages, is a baked vegetable dish in a shallow casserole, usually served warm, but this one was something like a layered salad, with chunks of lobster on top, and marinated shiitake on the bottom. The prosciutto-rolled fresh figs were simple in construction but lovely in taste - not too salty, not too sweet, but the best of both.

The salad, too, was simple, but good. The mozzarella marinated in pesto, then wrapped in prosciutto and baked in a deep dish with marinara sauce was the heartiest of the appetizers.

The marinara got high marks and the prosciutto added, as it can, quite a bit of perky saltiness. The only appetizer that got a so-so response was sweet potato skins with a yogurt honey mint sauce. The skins, we thought, should have been crisper.

As for the entrees, we had nothing but praise. This is the sort of food one eats slowly and savors. Rather than give you so much you'll never go away hungry, Peconic Coast gives you something that's so good you don't want it to end.

The breast of Muscovy duck was cooked to absolute perfection. Its crisp skin was mixed with tapenade and wrapped in a Moroccan pastry. Off to the side was a flavorful endive confit in vermouth sauce.

Bound To Glory

The chicken was tender and juicy and sat atop a bed of porcini mushrooms in a marsala sauce. An entree of sauteed bay scallops with lemon and parsley in a roasted golden acorn squash with rice pilaf featured plump little scallops cooked as they should be. As with the duck, there was a wonderful tapestry of textures and flavors.

Word has it that the sauteed calf's liver is "divine," but we didn't have the pleasure this time around.

We finished the meal with two desserts, a light orange-zest-flavored creme brulee and profiteroles with chocolate gelato, recommended for anyone with a massive sweet tooth and a good appetite.

Our evening at Peconic Coast was quite honestly one of the most pleasant dining experiences we've had in recent memory. Packed from its first week, this restaurant is the sort that will soon have a dining room full of regulars - with good reason.

East Hampton Town and Village, and the town's several fire districts, are considering spending more than $2 million for a new emergency communications system that would put them, technologically speaking, on a par with the rest of Suffolk County.

At least it would put them on the same wave length - enabling police, fire, and ambulance personnel to talk directly to each other townwide, rather than through a dispatcher as they do now, as well as countywide in the event of a catastrophe.

"We had just fired up the county system before the disaster of Flight 800," Thomas Potter, the manufacturer's representative, told the East Hampton Village Board last week. "At least everyone could talk to everyone."

"Dead Zones" Come Alive

The "800 Megahertz Smartnet" radio trunk system, as it is called, manufactured by Motorola, would replace existing equipment. Some of it is 18 years old, including more than 175 portable and mobile radios in the town and another 100 in East Hampton Village.

The computer-based radio network would connect police, fire, ambulance, highway, parks, and sanitation personnel, and others when necessary - say, during a severe hurricane. Proponents say it would form the basis for a complete East End radio system should Peconic County become a reality.

On a daily basis, the new technology would eliminate "dead zones" in parts of Springs, Northwest, and on Napeague, where firefighters' and emergency medical technicians' two-way radios often fail, requiring them to use a cellular phone or return to their vehicles to call the dispatch center.

Cellular Reliability

Cell phones may not always be reliable, cautioned Nat Raynor, the town's communications director, who has worked on the proposal for a year.

Many do not understand, he said, that every cell phone on the South Fork is linked by fiberoptic cable to a central control office in Woodbury. "If a storm knocks the cable lines out of commission - no cell phones."

The communications system proposal has touched a raw nerve here, reviving thoughts of money the county has collected in a monthly per-telephone 35-cent surcharge for "enhanced 911" emergency dispatch service.

The county has returned some of the E-911 surcharge funds to East Hampton in the form of a new computer, caller identification, and recording equipment now being installed at town police headquarters and at the Village Emergency Services Building on Cedar Street.

Where Money Goes

Most of the money, though, is thought to have gone to pay more than 70 county police dispatchers who handle calls exclusively in western Suffolk. Critics say the surcharge on East Enders pays for services in the west that they do not use,while their taxes go to dispatch services here. If the surcharge money were returned here, some say, it might lower taxes.

"We were promised last spring that this would not happen," Town Supervisor Cathy Lester said this week. She said she was "setting up a meeting about this" with County Executive Robert J. Gaffney.

Revenue-Sharing

Ms. Lester, who is running for re-election, also criticized the Republican County Executive for deleting $200,000 in revenue-sharing fromEast Hampton Town in his 1998 county budget proposal.

"We think this is because of our interest in Peconic County," she said. East Hampton has been in the forefront of the effort to secede from Suffolk County.

The county began installing its emergency communications system, at a cost of about $13 million, in 1993. Vincent Stile, director of police radio communications, said the network now covers the County Police Department, the county sheriff's and District Attorney's offices, bus services, and parks police.

New Antennas

Mr. Stile denied a report that county equipment in Southampton was going to be moved in the spring to Huntington, where service is considered inadequate. East Hampton officials had expressed concern that such a move would endanger South Fork ambulance companies' communications with Stony Brook University Medical Center.

Three antenna sites, but no new towers, would serve the new East Hampton network: at the Emergency Services Building on Cedar Street (the "prime site"), the tower at the Montauk transfer station off Montauk Highway, and a remote site for the western part of town in the AT&T tower in Noyac.

Ms. Lester just this week signed a contract with AT&T for that space, agreeing to pay an $8,750 one-time fee, plus $1,282 a year for five years.

Exclusive Channels

The system will operate over five "exclusive" channels the Federal Communications Commission has licensed to East Hampton. Some observers have expressed reservations that the police, for the first time, would have a channel inaccessible by scanner.

Ms. Lester defended the Police Department's "privacy needs" in surveillance situations where the element of surprise would be helpful. She said she saw "no down side" to confidentiality if, for example, it meant that a drug task force officer's conversation could not be overheard.

The East Hampton Town Board will consider the communications proposal next month. The $1.7 million or so cost would be a capital expense; the town would have to borrow to cover it.

Cost To Village

The East Hampton Village Board reviewed the plan last week at a work session. The various fire districts have been learning about it over the past several weeks.

The village's cost, about $348,000 - "a lot of money," acknowledged Larry Cantwell, the Village Administrator - might, if approved, become part of its $8 million operating budget. The village spent about $250,000 only seven years ago on a communications equipment upgrade, Mr. Cantwell said.

"We would not have considered this for the village if the town weren't doing it," he added, noting that police, fire, and ambulance personnel "can communicate adequately" throughout the village's 16 square miles.

Fire Districts

The village receives roughly $220,000 under contracts for dispatch service from the fire districts of Amagansett, Bridgehampton, Montauk, Sag Harbor, Springs, and the Sag Harbor Village Police.

Additionally, the village has asked the fire districts to contribute, proportionately, their share toward the upgrade of the village dispatch center, as follows: Amagansett, $10,000, Bridgehampton, $17,000, East Hampton Village fire and ambulance, $32,000, Montauk, $15,000, Sag Harbor, $17,000, Springs, $9,000.

Sag Harbor's Mayor Pierce Hance this week said he was awaiting final figures before deciding about the expenditure. Supervisor Lester said all the other fire districts had indicated their support.