We tend to make a beeline for the garden hose when that big lightbulb in the sky turns 150-watt and green things begin to go brown. No need to go trigger-happy with the nozzle, though.

Suffolk County has no watering restrictions now, but Montauk residents, whose water supply is at risk of saltwater intrusion, may get a dose if voluntary conservation fails this summer. We'd all do well to cut back where we can.

Setting up the sprinkler between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. not only wastes water, since much of it evaporates, it also doesn't do much good. It's better to sprinkle earlier or later in the day, and in long sessions so water can penetrate to the roots; shallow watering promotes shallow roots, and so does cutting grass to shorter than two to two-and-a-half inches high.

You can place a coffee can in your sprinkler's path to find out how long it takes to deliver an inch of water, which is how much most lawns need per week. Aiming sprinkler streams at plants and lawns only - not pavement or, heaven forbid, clotheslines - also saves water. So does using mulch, which cools the soil and stops evaporation.

The elixir of life! People drive in droves to get to the shores of the glittering blue, but we scatter it recklessly. That's wrong.

Evidence of a huge flood on Mars - on a plain formed at just about the same time that life on Earth erupted from the sea - makes life there a bit more plausible, even if it was billions of years ago.

Why do we care?

Maybe we need someone to face infinity with. It's one thing to be no more than a speck in the universe, another to be the only game in town.

Summer Hot Spots

And the winner is . . . Club M-80 in Southampton! What's the honor, you ask? Most models per paying customer? Most cigar smoke per cubic inch? No, M-80 has claimed victory in the annual employee-night war - that yearly scramble to corner the weekday crowd into one big night.

Until now, M-80, Jet East, and Flying Point (now Sound Factory) all ran their weekly employee nights on Thursday. But the one at M-80, promoted by Danceteria, has drawn the biggest crowds, prompting the other two big clubs to regroup. The Tavern has avoided the competition all summer by hosting its employee night on Wednesdays.

What does all this mean? Well, basically, those looking to go out on Thursday are bound to find a crowd at M-80. The club, which is at the north end of North Sea Road, still hosts well-promoted "Big" Fridays every week, and sets aside Saturdays for sizable fashion-world-oriented parties.

Sound Factory

Not much has changed physically at the former Flying Point in Southampton, nor has the quota of big bruiser-types without shirts, but the club may have finally found its niche. After 4 a.m. on weekends, Sound Factory puts a lid on liquor and opens a juice bar. Sources tell me the club's dance floor was still rocking well past 7 a.m. this weekend. Sounds like the after-hours scene the club crawlers have been waiting for out here.

Sound Factory is still open Thursday through Saturday, with Saturdays still being promoted by Joey Morrissey and company, who did Flying Point.

The club is on Montauk Highway next to Pier One Imports.

Stephen Talkhouse

Skipping back to Amagansett, the Stephen Talkhouse has a major week in store, spanning everything from folk rock to new wave. To the Moon Alice starts it off tonight with rock-and-roll at 9.

The reunited British new-wave band The Fixx (remember "Reach the Beach") will stop in tomorrow at 8 p.m. (Hey, if Echo and the Bunnymen can pull it off, why not The Fixx?) The Bogmen will follow at 11, bringing their fanatic following and highly original alternative rock. The band managed to give the Talkhouse easily its two busiest nights of the summer last year. The Bogmen are booked for Saturday as well, starting at 8, with the late-night band still to-be-announced.

The folk rocker Steve Forbert will make his yearly appearance on Sunday, after an opening set from Amagansett's own G.E. Smith and Taylor Barton, at 8. Nancy Atlas, Matt Dauch, Gene Hamilton, and the rest of the "acoustic Monday" crew will play their original music Monday, with Ms. Atlas starting an hourlong set at 9.

The ex-Byrd member Roger McGuinn is on deck for Tuesday at 8. Mr. McGuinn has been charming audiences for years at the Talkhouse with sincere and familiar folk music. The Talkhouse's open-jam night, hosted by Paragon, will follow Tuesday at 10. The popular Shock shine handles the Talkhouse's employee night Wednesday with its grinding dance reggae at 10.

Looking ahead, The G.E. Smith Band is lined up for next Thursday at 8, and the boogie-woogie pianist Marcia Ball is on for Friday, July 18, at 8, with Shauna Young opening. The Hotheads will follow Ms. Ball at 11.

Riffz

Live music will complement the late-night menu and busy pool table at Riffz on Montauk Highway in East Hampton this weekend. Bruce Stewart will play acoustic rock and folk tomorrow, starting at 9 p.m. The Fugitives will surface on Saturday at 10 to bring their classic rock and blues.

Riffz is opposite Apple Bank, near East Hampton Bowl.

Wild Rose

It's a good thing Bridgehampton's Wild Rose Cafe is so darn comfortable inside, or people wouldn't put up with the long line to get in on weekends. The Rose is simply too small to hold everyone, but that doesn't keep the faithful from braving parking tickets and long waits to flock to the Rose every week.

Rockabilly from The Lone Sharks sets the tone every Thursday, starting at 9:30 p.m. This weekend's stage goes to the solid Oxford Blues, who play, you guessed it, blues.

The Rose is on the Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike.

T's Avallon

Dinner and entertainment, in the supper-club tradition. That's the thrust of the newly opened T's Avallon on the Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike. The Avallon (formerly the Pike) hosts music Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m., with a DJ and dancing afterward.

The artist and jazzman Larry Rivers will perform tonight, and the popular Phoebe Legere will bring her unique brand of cabaret tomorrow and Saturday.

La Superica

The margaritas have been flowing steadily at Sag Harbor's La Superica restaurant on Main Street. In addition to its jam-packed weekends, the upbeat eatery hosts live music every Wednesday at 11 p.m. This Wednesday, the back room goes to the jam-oriented rock of The Realm. "Monday madness" on Mondays puts La Superica's bartender Aubrey behind the bar and brings in the fun-loving surfer set.

Malloy's Dock

Everyone seems to love Vivian and the Merrymakers. What's not to love? Steel drums, Hawaiian shirts, happy calypso music?

Well, the Merrymakers have landed a new home, at the newly opened Malloy's Dock in Sag Harbor. The restaurant opened several weeks ago in what used to be the Amazon Deck on the Long Wharf. Aside from the Merrymakers on Sunday afternoons around 4, the restaurant also hosts live jazz inside on Saturday nights around 10.

Harbor House

The Harbor House in Sag Harbor has established quite the employee night on Tuesdays, sharing crowds with the nearby La Superica, which also has a Tuesday employee night. DJ 007 usually provides the music to move the young crowd.

Wednesdays still bring the Harbor House's open-mike night, hosted by Vince Collins of Led Fingers. Fridays and Saturdays feature the Harbor House's lineup of live rock, blues, and reggae bands, while Sundays feature live reggae every week.

75 Main

Southampton's 75 Main restaurant will be rocking to a new beat on Saturday when The Lone Sharks dish out satisfaction-guaranteed rockabilly. The restaurant has hosted reggae, soul, rhythm-and-blues, classic rock, and other genres, but not string-bending rockabilly. The Lone Sharks start at 11 p.m. Chris Barret plays piano every Friday at 9 p.m.

Southampton Publick House

As it does every Thursday night, The Trevor Davison Orchestra will play big band swing tonight at 10 at the Southampton Publick House. The swing turns to blues tomorrow night, when the always lively Toby and the Boys drop in at 10 to start a double header; they play Saturday, too, at the same time. D.J. Tom mans the turntable on Sunday, and Sweet Belly Kisses play alternative rock on Monday.

The Publick House is on Main Street and Bowden Square.

Hansom House

The feisty, grungy, young reggae band Shockshine rocked the Hansom House in Southampton last week with a combination of rap, rock, and dance hall reggae. They'll be back for more tomorrow night. For those who can't get close enough to the stage to see them, the Hansom House has two giant screens, which carry the action on stage - pretty clever, huh?

The Last Chance Blues Band will belt out the blues on Saturday. Music starts after 10:30 at the Hansom House, which is on Elm Street.

Harvest

For those who enjoy a good cigar, a martini (shaken, not stirred), or simply a good party, there is the Harvest restaurant's "Harvest Club" party every Saturday from 11 p.m. The Harvest is on South Emery Street in Montauk, overlooking Fort Pond.

Blue Marlin/Gurney's

Speaking of karaoke, the Blue Marlin restaurant on Edgemere Street, Montauk, lets it rip every Sunday at 9 p.m.

Karaoke is the Thursday-night attraction in the lounge at Gurney's Inn on the Old Montauk Highway in Montauk. Gurney's has entertainment seven nights a week. Silhouette plays popular hits tomorrow and Saturday night. The classic-rock keyboardist Paul Gene plays on Sunday. John Rinell plays hits and oldies Monday, leaving Tuesday for Rene Michaels, and Wednesday for The Paul Gene Band. Music begins around 9 p.m.

Tipperary Inn

The always lively Tipperary Inn on West Lake Drive, Montauk, has filled its roster with solid music this summer, with something lined up seven nights a week. D.J. Tom starts it off tonight with his patented dance music. Lee Ross takes the stage tomorrow, leaving it for the classic-rocking Zorki and his band on Saturday.

The Soul Poets play their mix of classic rock and blues every Sunday night, John Doyle strums out Irish music and regular rock on Mondays, and everyone's a singer when the karaoke machine comes out on Tuesdays.

Music at the Tipp starts around 10:30 p.m.

Old Shebeen

Montauk's Old Shebeen is back on the live-music map. The lively Irish bar on Edgemere Street has three nights of it in store this weekend, beginning with Blue Monday tomorrow night. The band Big Time will try to prove its status on Saturday, giving Sunday night over to The Tain, one of New York's hottest Irish rock bands.

Music starts after 10:30 at the Shebeen.

Montauk Yacht Club

For a sunny Sunday afternoon by the water, you might check out the Montauk Yacht Club on Lake Montauk. The club hosts live music every Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. on its breezy deck. The classic-rock keyboardist Glenn Mac plays this week, and The Morris Brothers play acoustic rock every Sunday after that.

The Yacht Club is on the Star Island Causeway, off West Lake Drive.

Dancing Crab

Montauk's Dancing Crab on West Lake Drive has always been a venue for good live rock-and-roll. Now the Crab has taken it a step further by introducing a Saturday-night concert series featuring more than the usual rotation of local bands. Randy Jackson, a former member of Zebra, will kick off the weekly series with an acoustic show this Saturday at 10:30 p.m. He'll return with his band Pyramid, featuring members of Black Sabbath and Blue Oyster Cult, the following Saturday.

The Crab's normal roster will hold for Friday's stage, although a DJ is scheduled for tomorrow night. The rest of the club's weekly schedule remains the same.

Memory Motel

The best band name of the summer award goes to Snooze Button, which sets up tomorrow night at Montauk's Memory Motel on Main Street. The band features Tony Bruno, a former guitarist with Joan Jett's Blackhearts. Saturday night brings The Moon Dogs and lively classic rock. Bands begin around 10:30.

The Memory also has Glenn Mac on keyboards every Tuesday, and an open-jam night on Wednesdays, hosted by John Hanford of The Napeague Choirboys. The same folks who bring karaoke to Gurney's, and the Blue Marlin, bring karaoke capability to the Memory on Thursdays. Weekday events start around 10.

AMAGANSETT

Bellas to Evelyn Berry, Napeague Lane, $340,000.

Sank to Thomas DiGaetano, Marine Boulevard, $1,250,000.

BRIDGEHAMPTON

Sieger to Robert Loonie and Patricia Arledge, Butter Lane, $545,000.

Davis to Alfred Stewart, Becky's Path, $325,000.

Cohn to William and Jane Indoe, Church Lane, $650,000.

EAST HAMPTON

Robinson to Melissa Weldon, South Pond Road, $440,000.

Walcoe to John Zisa and James Priolo, Greenway Drive, $253,000.

Terry to Michael Solomon and Claudia Spinelli, Middle Highway, $185,000.

Owen to Jeffrey and Cornelia Pagano, Main Street, $600,000. NORTHWEST

Leisure Tech Group Ltd. to Carmine and Marcella Speranza, Bull Run, $650,000.

SAG HARBOR

Butts to Kathleen Manchester, Mt. Misery Drive, $185,000.

SAGAPONACK

Sharkey to Michael and Diane Bonvissuto, Long Pond Trail, $430,000.

SPRINGS

Fowkes to Bruce Woolf and Dale Scharlat, Cedar Ridge Drive, $178,000.

WAINSCOTT

Gold to Gordon Roberts and Anthony Natiello, Debra's Way, $322,000.

WATER MILL

Edge of Woods Assoc. to Joseph Andreassi Jr. and Sr. and Marc Andreassi, Seven Ponds Towd Road, $900,000.

Calverton is home where the buffalo roam for Art and Marilyn Binder. They share their spacious ranch with three dogs, two horses, and three yearling buffalo named Taurus, Brook, and Lyn.

Sitting on the patio overlooking their land while sipping coffee graciously served by Mrs. Binder, it is easy to forget that one is just a few miles north of the Riverhead shopping strip and not in the horse and cattle country of Texas.

It was Mr. Binder's love for horses that led to the buffalo . . . in a roundabout way. He's always been a horse enthusiast. "I was definitely the cowboy in the family," he recalled.

Cutting Horses

Quarter horses were and are his breed of choice. Initially, Mr. Binder was heavily involved in showing in reining classes. Reining is an exacting and beautiful competitive event in which the horse and rider adhere to a prescribed course of intricate patterns designed to test the suppleness and agility of the animal as well as the communication skills between rider and horse.

But, after considerable success in this area, Mr. Binder got bitten by the cutting-horse bug.

"Cutting is truly addictive!" he said. The function of the cutting horse is to separate a steer from its herd and keep it separate for a designated length of time. Not an easy task, for the herd instinct of the steer compels it to return back to its comrades.

Bovine Dodges

The horse must move quickly and alertly to block all the bovine dodges and dashes. Most interesting of all, the horse carries out this task on its own. With no guidance from the rider, a top cutting horse relies entirely on its own anticipation of the steer's next move - and on its ability to beat the steer to it!

Horses usually take to cutting like ducks to water. It is, after all, a sport that utilizes all their mental and physical skills in abundance: an extreme, almost intuitive, ability to read body language, suppleness, quickness, and a great love of being bossy.

"It's the only equine sport that the horse likes more than the rider," stated Mr. Binder.

Enter Buffalo

But being a cutting-horse competitor based on the East End had its pitfalls. There are no cutting-horse competitions locally, and, worse, there are no cattle.

Mr. Binder used to make a trek to Pennsylvania every few weeks to pick up cattle to use for training sessions. It was a long, tiring, and expensive haul that always ended up proving somewhat fruitless. The cattle would very quickly become acclimated to the horse and rider and would refuse to show any moves but would stand gazing placidly at Mr. Binder and his steed. Not very good for practice!

Enter buffalo. "Cutting-horse trainers in the Southwest have been using buffalo for years," observed Mr. Binder.

Even when raised in captivity, buffalo retain much of their natural wariness. They do not become acclimated to a horse and rider!

Ferry Ride

Buffalo are also tremendously athletic. Mr. Binder cautions that people shouldn't judge them by their awkward, shambling walk. "They're the quickest, fastest animals. They can easily outmaneuver and outjump a horse."

He waxed eloquent on the conformational structure of the animal, noting in particular the strong square hindquarters that serve the buffalo so well in its turning, running, and jumping abilities.

Taurus, Brook, and Lynn are descended from North Dakotan stock but were raised in northern Connecticut. Last fall the Binders picked them up and transported them to their new Long Island home.

This necessitated a trip on the ferry. The buffalo were not particularly impressed with their maritime adventure; they just lay on the floor of the stock trailer chewing their cuds. But their fellow passengers were enthralled. "There were people peering into the trailer during the whole trip," Mrs. Binder recalled, "saying, 'Look, look, it's buffalo!' "

Taurus And Harem

When unloaded into their spacious Calverton pasture, the young animals were "completely terrified," Mrs. Binder said. They spent the first several days in the corner of the field farthest from the house and barns.

Being a cutting-horse competitor based on the East End had its pitfalls. There are no cutting-horse competitions locally, and, worse, there are no cattle. Enter buffalo.

But gradually, as Mr. Binder encouraged them with feedings of grain placed close to the barns, the animals began to relax. The buffalo now show an amiable curiosity toward human beings and approach willingly and of their own accord.

They are still quite immature; Taurus is not even halfway to his ultimate weight of 2,000 pounds. But he carries himself with the lofty dignity of a bull and is quick to herd his youthful harem of two away from too-close proximity to humans.

Brook And Lyn

Brook and Lyn are more sociable . . . at least from a distance. They stare back at people with as much fascination as people evidence toward them.

Brook's lack of one horn gives her an endearing look of deshabille, like a little girl who's forgotten to do up one pigtail. "She's a little daffy, that one," Mr. Binder remarked.

Lyn is sturdier and tougher looking, though quite beautiful in her way, as she warily studies a two-legged visitor, turning her head to the side and peering through a rolled-back eye to get an alternative view.

"They're very intelligent. Way more than cattle. And much cleaner, too," said Mr. Binder with pride.

Wild And Wary

The buffalo look like cattle, but with something very wild thrown in the mix. "Wild is the word," Mr. Binder observed. "They'll come to 20 feet or so and stand watching you. But if you so much as say boo to them, they're off."

This wariness has certainly aided in the conditioning and training of Zaculena, Mr. Binder's cutting horse, for he's now rated in the top 10 of the East Coast Cutting Horse Association.

But, apart from their aid in the training of his horses, Mr. Binder has become a buffalo aficionado, and plans to make a business out of his herd. The three will come of breeding age next year and, with any luck, in several years the "plains" of Calverton will hear the rumbling hooves of a large buffalo herd.

Two Montauk residents were arrested this week and charged with selling more than a half-kilo of cocaine to undercover officers over the past several months.

The arrests capped a nine-month investigation conducted by the Suffolk County Police East End Drug Team, with assistance from East Hampton Town police. More arrests may be coming, officials said.

Charged in the sting with criminal sale of a controlled substance were Henry de Jesus Castaneda, 35, of West Lake Drive, and Luz Marleny Henrao de Rivera, 41, of Edgemere Road. Mr. Castaneda faces two counts of first-degree sale; Ms. Rivera, one count each of first and second-degree sale.

All the charges are felonies.

Undercover

According to the County Narcotics Division, the sales date back as far as Sept. 20, 1996, when Mr. Castaneda, an employee of Cyril's Fish House on Napeague, allegedly sold more than four ounces of cocaine to an undercover officer for $2,600. The transaction took place at the restaurant, police said.

Police allege Mr. Castaneda sold another more-than-four-ounce quantity to the same undercover officer about three weeks later at the Offshore Sports Marina in Montauk. This time, the price was $3,625.

He was arrested last Thursday.

As for Ms. de Rivera, county police claim she sold cocaine to an undercover officer on two occasions in East Hampton: on Nov. 9, 1996, at a house on Montauk Highway, and on Nov. 15, 1996, in the Reutershan parking lot. One of the packages had already been divided into 27 smaller packages, police said.

Together, the cocaine allegedly came to just under four ounces, for a combined price of $3,600.

25-To-Life

The charges against the alleged dealers were far more serious than any of those lodged in the large drug sweep in Montauk last November, orchestrated by state, county, and town police. Most of the 14 defendants in that sweep were considered low-level users and/or dealers; their sentences ranged from six months to three-to-nine years.

If convicted, Mr. Castaneda and Ms. de Rivera face maximum sentences of 25-years-to-life.

Ms. de Rivera, who has worked as a housekeeper for the Hermitage and Ocean Dunes resorts, was arrested on Sunday. She remained at the county jail in Riverhead as of yesterday in lieu of $50,000 bail.

Mr. Castaneda was released Friday on $10,000 bail, posted by the owner of Cyril's, Cyril Fitzsimons, in East Hampton Town Justice Court.

"Connections"

Det. Lieut. Hall Coleman of the County Narcotics Division, described the two as "entrepreneurs. They had the availability. They had the connections, and they were certainly capable of dealing on that level."

He said the "bulk" of the cocaine likely came from New York City.

"There are other people we're looking at," Lieutenant Coleman said. "People that were in a position to supply these people."

Less serious drug charges were lodged against three others in East Hampton over the week, involving small amounts of cocaine and marijuana.

In A Parking Lot

In the pre-dawn hours of Saturday, an officer checking stores in Amagansett stumbled upon two men allegedly smoking a joint in the municipal parking lot.

When approached, police said, the two dropped the joint and claimed they were not smoking anything.

The officer charged David B. Kessler, 34, of Kew Gardens and John H. Nels, 42, of Montclair, N.Y., with fifth-degree criminal possession of marijuana, a misdemeanor.

The two were released on $50 bail.

According to town police, a foot patrol officer in Amagansett Saturday night came upon a man in the alleyway next to McKendry's pub, holding what appeared to be a packet of cocaine.

The man, Andrew A. Lago, 25, of Manhattan turned over the packet to the officer and was charged with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, a misdemeanor.

The packet tested positive for cocaine, police said.

Mr. Lago was released on $200 bail.

Three newsworthy developments gave the ongoing story of the dispute between two celebrated Georgica Pond neighbors, the lifestyle guru Martha Stewart and the Manhattan real estate tycoon Harry Macklowe, a new chapter this week.

First, a local attorney representing Ms. Stewart in numerous legal actions taken by her next-door neighbor has asked the State Supreme Court in Riverhead to allow him to withdraw. Publicly, he cited "the media attention to the various matters of litigation" as his reason. Further explanation for the attorney's request is to be disclosed privately to a judge.

Second, The Star learned that a new lawsuit was filed in June by Mr. Macklowe against Ms. Stewart and the Village of East Hampton.

Second Suit

The suit is the second he has brought as a result of village decisions involving Ms. Stewart's Georgica Close Road property. This time Mr. Macklowe is challenging Ms. Stewart's certificate of occupancy in an Article 78 proceeding.

And, third, three citations for alleged Village Code violations were filed with East Hampton Town Justice Court on Tuesday against Mr. Macklowe. That brings the total number of violations charged against him to six.

The request to be relieved of representing Ms. Stewart in various matters connected with her neighbor was dated Tuesday and signed by Leo nard I. Ackerman, an East Hampton attorney serving as her co-counsel.

"Much Too Much"

According to the document, which was faxed anonymously to The Star just before press time from a Kinko's office in Manhattan, the request was made on behalf of Mr. Ackerman and an Islandia law firm, Bracken & Margolin. Justice William Underwood has set July 14 as the deadline to appeal the attorneys' request.

Reached late yesterday, Mr. Ackerman said that he would continue to work on Ms. Stewart's behalf, but that it was her wish that her corporate attorney, Jeffrey Stephens, who has offices in New York and Connecticut, assume responsibility as primary counsel. The same applies to Bracken & Margolin, which had served as co-counsel to Mr. Ackerman, the East Hampton attorney said.

In a telephone interview yesterday, Mr. Ackerman said there had been "much too much" work for a small firm such as his to handle effectively.

Nonstop Litigation

The legal request cites the numerous lawsuits, motions, appeals, restraining orders, criminal complaints, Zoning Board of Appeals and State Department on Environmental Conservation applications, and contempt proceedings.

"This litigation has been nonstop since June 14, 1996," the document states. It also refers to "attempt[s] to salvage the client relation to be explained in camera [privately to the judge], all in the context of extremely distracting newly emerging developments . . . and media coverage" as well as "the high level of hostility between the parties."

The document also refers to a request to the court from Mr. Macklowe to be allowed to enter Ms. Stewart's property "for purposes of inspection." Mr. Ackerman wrote that Mr. Macklowe "has no legitimate need to conduct the inspection." Mr. Stephens could not be reached yesterday.

Mr. Macklowe's latest lawsuit asks the court to revoke the certificate of occupancy as well as to overturn an earlier Zoning Board of Appeals' decision declining to consider Mr. Macklowe's appeal of the certificate.

The suit was filed with the County Clerk on June 11, by KAM Hampton I Realty Corp., the corporate name in which Mr. Macklowe owns the property, as well as by Mr. Macklowe and his wife, Linda Macklowe.

The Village Code violations allege that Mr. Macklowe had a fence and landscaping illegally installed within wetlands jurisdiction without a permit and that the fence exceeds the village's height restrictions.

Cause Of Action

The citations accuse Mr. Macklowe of having installed a fence that includes "chemically treated wood posts sunken into the ground" and landscaping within the wetlands setback, both "substantially impairing the benefits of the wetlands," according to a document filed with the court by Thomas Lawrence, a village code enforcement officer who is listed in Mr. Macklowe's lawsuit.

A third count charges that the fence is taller than six feet tall, in violation of the Village Code.

Meanwhile, as of press time, there was no word from Suffolk District Attorney James M. Catterson Jr. on whether misdemeanor charges of reckless endangerment, criminal trespass, or possibly even assault against Ms. Stewart would be filed. The matter has been under review by the D.A.'s office for five weeks.

Triggering Incident

Word that Ms. Stewart would be charged with misdemeanors came from the East Hampton Village Police Chief, Glen Stonemetz, after 23-year-old Matthew J. Munnich of Port Jefferson Station filed a complaint with police alleging that Ms. Stewart backed her Suburban into him, pinning him against a gate control box in Mr. Macklowe's driveway on May 21 and injuring him.

The two-year-old dispute between Mr. Macklowe and Ms. Stewart centers around plantings at the border of their properties. Mr. Macklowe was cited for those plantings and lighting fixtures a year ago and is scheduled to have a bench trial Tuesday in East Hampton Town Justice Court. A separate court date of July 28 is scheduled on the three new Village Code charges.

Second Residence?

The new lawsuit brought by Mr. Macklowe claims that a C.O. should not have been issued because Ms. Stewart's property contains a studio with a bathroom, refrigerator, washer and dryer, and counter sink. He claims it is being used as a second residence, which is prohibited under the Village Code.

He also seeks an injunction to keep the village from issuing a building permit for the structure and to keep Ms. Stewart from "constructing, erecting, maintaining, occupying, or using [the studio] for any purpose whatsoever."

"The properties surrounding Georgica Pond are large parcels improved by multimillion-dollar homes and Georgica Pond is notable as an environmentally unique water body surrounded by lush and pristine wetlands," the lawsuit claims.

The former owner and designer of Ms. Stewart's house, the late architect Gordon Bunshaft, was denied a request 21 years ago to build the studio with bed and bath. There was no prohibition on the structure without those appurtenances, however.

Village Is Ox?

An updated C.O. was issued by the village (Mr. Macklowe claims improperly) in 1995, when Ms. Stewart was in contract to buy the house from the Museum of Modern Art, to which the property was bequeathed by Mr. Gordon and his widow, Nina Bunshaft. It appears to show that the bathroom and partial kitchen facilities were in place before Ms. Stewart bought the property.

Mr. Macklowe this week referred any questions to his Water Mill attorney, Michael Walsh. The only comment Mr. Walsh would make was that "this all began with Martha Stewart's illegal clearing of the wetlands." She has not been charged with a Village Code violation, however.

Howard Pachman of the Commack firm Pachman, Pachman & Brown, the firm that will defend the village against the suit, could not be reached yesterday for comment.

Larry Cantwell, the Village Administrator, would not comment on the legal issues raised in Mr. Macklowe's suit. He did say, however, that the village "sometimes becomes the ox in some of these neighbor disputes."

"I think it's unfortunate," Mr. Cantwell added. "It's a waste of money."

This is the concluding article in an 11-part series examining various aspects of real estate on the South Fork.

Two years ago there was hardly a real estate broker in the Hamptons who knew what E-mail was, let alone how to get around on the Internet. Today, more than half the agencies between Southampton and Montauk are on line or planning to be, even if a lot of brokers don't quite understand yet what they're doing there, or even where "there" is.

The one or two brokers in each office who do know their way around the Net, however, are enthusiastic about this new sales tool. They say most of the inquiries that arrive electronically come from people who are not just lookers but serious, committed prospects.

That stands to reason, if only because, when it comes to the Internet, getting there is definitely not half the fun. People who have already invested a sizable chunk of time waiting for America Online to connect, deciding where to search, and browsing through dozens of pages of photographs and text tend to be, as real estate brokers say, live ones.

Only recently has there been that much out there worth searching for. In early 1996, when the Tina Fredericks agency, Dayton-Halstead, Cook Pony Farm Real Estate, and a few other pioneers took their first tentative steps into cyberspace, their Web pages typically displayed an exterior photograph of a house with just a few brief lines of description underneath - a broker's window gone high-tech.

Today, colorful graphics and the wonders of technology have made it possible to sit in your house and wander through somebody else's, click by click, room by room, even zooming in on the kitchen cabinets to see whether they're made of metal or wood. An agency can show as many houses as it is willing to keep track of; some have as many as 200, others as few as 30.

The setup is designed for maximum efficiency. Each house has a number. "By the time people call, they've done some homework," explained Bill Stoecker of Dayton-Halstead in East Hampton. "They say, 'I'd like to see number XX.' They ask some specific questions."

Seeing The Same Thing

Even if the first contact is made in the usual way, a wired-in broker can take advantage of the Net.

"I had a high-tech guy who didn't come through the Internet," said Mr. Stoecker, "and we could communicate visually over the phone in a way [brokers] never could before. He'd say, 'Wait, let me pull that up,' and we'd both be looking at the same photo."

Queries also arrive by E-mail. "We got E-mail from Italy last week, looking for investment property," said Melanie Ross, president of the Cook Agency. "Every E-mail gets answered immediately. That's a rule. You don't wait two weeks to answer E-mail."

The vast majority of correspondence and follow-ups comes not from faraway places, as many had expected it would - although California generates a lot of traffic - but from the New York metropolitan area.

According to Hamptons Real Estate Online, a Westhampton marketing service that has helped many local realtors get on the Web and stay there, investment banking types surfing from their office computers account for much of the activity.

HREO's automated counters tallied 4,905 inquiries between November and early June from Lehman.com, 4,320 from bankerstrust.com, and 3,138 from IBM.net.

"The reason they use the Net is they are busy and can't waste time," ventured Jan Robinson, president of Hampton Homes in East Hampton, which as of mid-June had rented 31 houses that began with online queries.

Sometimes questions come from "professionals who have access in their homes," Ms. Robinson said. "I get E-mail timed at 2 in the morning, when they have time."

Facts Laid Out

Al Eith of Cook's Southampton office agreed. "I don't think they have time to go lollygagging around for a scenic tour of the area," he said. "They want the facts - they want it laid out."

A Goldman Sachs executive, a "very shy and private" man born in India but based in Manhattan, bought a million-dollar-plus stone "castle" on seven acres north of Water Mill, complete with an exercise room, from Mr. Eith recently, in a contact that began on the Web.

"He didn't know that much about the Hamptons," said the broker, "but he liked the data I gave him. He's very analytical - wanted to get into every little nut, bolt, and screw."

In The Door

So did Sean Murphy, who works for VH1, a division of MTV, which he described as "very technology-forward."

"I didn't end up buying propery I saw on the Net, but that's what actually hooked me in," said Mr. Murphy. "The Internet got me in the door. You get the interest to go out and look, and then the agent gets a feel for what you really want."

He made initial contact from his office, he said: "We all get Netscape and are encouraged to use it as a resource, and people noodle around on it."

Amagansett was Mr. Murphy's first choice, but "there was nothing there in my price range," he said. He wound up buying a $225,000 house on Copeces Lane in Springs from Renate Klam of the Condie Lamb Agency. The closing is next week.

Sight Unseen

Joe Vallo, on the other hand, rented over the Net sight unseen.

Down in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., last winter, Mr. Vallo, a divorced lawyer who has spent several summers on the South Fork but could not make the trip this year because he had just adopted an infant daughter, fired up AOL and typed in "Hamptons," which automatically brings up a top-of-the-page "banner" ad for HREO. He "checked out" the houses he liked, he said, and E-mailed several brokers for more information.

He chose a two-story saltbox on Cedar Drive in Springs, said Mr. Vallo, for "the price, the size, and the location." Dayton-Halstead's Mr. Stoecker "overnighted pictures" of the house to Florida and Mr. Vallo "had some friends run by and take a look," but otherwise the deal was strictly fiber-optic.

Mr. Stoecker called Mr. Vallo "the best tenant I've had this summer. Never talks about spider webs."

"This is my first cyberhouse rental, but I use the Net for many things," said Mr. Vallo. "Recently I shopped for a baby jogging stroller on the Net."

Vacant Property

In addition to sales and rentals, brokers offer vacant property on line, though this is a horse of a different color. No one has quite figured out how to showcase an empty tract of land to best advantage, given the medium's limitations. It helps if there is water, but one tree looks pretty much like another, especially on a small screen.

It took Jeff Saul half a year to find the lot he bought in May. "As of six months ago, all you could see [on line] was trees," said Mr. Saul, a software developer who lives in Manhattan's Battery Park City. "I think if you could see a map of the lot and an aerial shot, and maybe what houses in the neighborhood look like, it would help."

Still, he said, "seeing the pictures and the prices made me start to like the idea of owning." After corresponding by E-mail with several brokers he narrowed down the search, came out to look, and wound up buying a flag lot on Long Hill Road in Northwest Woods from Helen Munn of the Condie Lamb Agency.

If the Internet is given credit for being a catalyst in transactions such as Mr. Saul's, then it may be playing a larger role on the South Fork real estate stage than has hitherto been understood.

More To Come

And it can be expected to grow, especially if Nicholas and Theresa Kouri and their backers, whom they identified as "plugged-in summer people," continue pouring money into the couple's Westhampton-based HREO.

The Princeton-educated Kouris, devout believers in the future of electronic commerce, confidently expect that a new technology called WebTV, which marries the computer to television, will put 80 percent of America on the Net in two or three years. If that happens, they say, it will tranform not just real estate but every other business in the nation.

Keeping Up

Meanwhile, even brokers who see little benefit from the Internet say they will continue to maintain a presence there, if for no other reason than that the Joneses must be kept up with.

Hampton Homes has been on line only since January. "I called and asked other brokers, should I do this," said Ms. Robinson. " 'Do it,' they said, 'because everyone else is doing it and it's the wave of the future.' "

"I think we get more browsers than reality," said Tina Fredericks, "and the Net is a beast that you have to feed constantly. It can get so cram med with garbage. It's really a lot of work."

"But," said Ms. Fredericks, "I think as time goes on it will be the way to go. What choice do I have?"

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The Farmhouse

341 Montauk Highway

East Hampton

324-8585

Open for dinner and

Sunday brunch

The Farmhouse on Pantigo Road in East Hampton was looking particularly pretty the other night. The owners really seem to have solved the problem of what to do with this big, meandering space which sank so many restaurants before. It now exudes an ambiance of old-fashioned country comfort, with open fires and relaxation.

Everyone is competing with prixfixe menus at this time of year, but the Farmhouse has a hook: The three-course menu is $21, but if two of you take it you get a bottle of wine thrown in for only $4 more apiece.

One of the surprises at the Farmhouse is that it has a rather grand wine list, grander than the restaurant would seem to warrant, but surely a delight for local oenophiles.

There is a big selection of wines by the glass too and, though they are fairly expensive, each of the four different wines we tried was very good.

On the a la carte menu, appetizers range in price from soup at $6, through Caesar salad at $9, to mussels or crab cake at $11. As for entrees, you can get a vegetable plate for $16, but otherwise they start at $21 for roast chicken and rise to $30 for a Black Angus steak.

Other entrees include lamb shank ($23), one of the Farmhouse's signature dishes, roast duck, and sea scallops. Two vegetable pastas are $22 and $23.

Prix Fixe Choices

With the prix fixe you get a choice of entrees, which vary from day to day, a soup or salad to start your meal, and dessert. The mixed green salad was fine (one of these nights I will wake up and have an epiphany: an exciting way to describe a mixed green salad, but it hasn't happened yet).

The bean soup was rather bland, but after a good dash of salt and pepper it passed muster. The other a la carte starters were a bit more adventurous. A little winter casserole of snails had a powerful sauce of wild mushrooms and Ricard.

This pungent sauce, whose richness was cut by the aromatic Ricard, is just the thing for cold nights, if somewhat filling as a starter.

Good Vegetables

A lighter offering was the salmon tartare, served with a sprinkle of salmon roe and a cool, crisp cucumber salad.

That cucumber salad reminds me to mention that the Farmhouse is good with vegetables. Each entree is accompanied by something different and a lot of thought obviously goes into the combinations.

The horseradish-crusted salmon was excellent, but even more exciting was the lovely wine-red beet risotto that accompanied it.

Venison, served in a rich wine sauce, is an appropriate dish for this festive season, and the caramelized carrots served with it were outstanding. It was also served with mashed parsnips, whose flavor was delicious even if over-beating had turned them somewhat gluey.

Old-fashioned comfort food arrived in the form of roast chicken, which was suffused with rosemary flavor and accompanied by good mashed potatoes and a garlicky gravy.

Not so exciting was the striped bass, and this was the only dish whose accompaniments didn't excel - the saffron Israeli couscous was pallid and had that slight shudder component of tapioca.

We finished our meal - and lingered, because we could hear each other's conversations - with chocolate pudding and a selection of delicate homemade sorbets.

The prix fixe, as mentioned before, is a good value, the decor and atmosphere are warm and charming, they seem to have fixed the noise problem that once existed, and the service was delightful. Otherwise, however, the prices at the Farmhouse are a little on the high side for food that is generally good, but not exceptional.

Fireworks will illuminate East Hampton skies above Main Beach in the village and in the vicinity of the Devon Yacht Club in Amagansett Saturday night. The rain date for both shows is Sunday night.

Bay Fireworks will present the Main Beach show beginning at about 9 p.m. The East Hampton display is sponsored annually by the Fire Department, which has appealed to residents for donations for the costly endeavor.

The Grucci family will begin shooting off fireworks for the Devon Yacht Club in Amagansett at about the same time. The club's fireworks, although paid for privately, are viewable from public beaches around Gardiner's Bay and from boats anchored there. Among the nautical contingent will be members of the East Hampton Power Squadron, who will raft up together to watch the show.

No Cars

No vehicles will be allowed on the bay beaches between the northerly side of Barnes Hole Road and the Devon Yacht Club from 5 to 11 p.m. that night, however. A stretch of ocean beach also is being closed to vehicles by East Hampton Village until the morning after the Main Beach fireworks, as reported on page one.

A third fireworks display Saturday night will be over Shelter Island's Crescent Beach. The rain date is scheduled for July 12. Several hundred boats usually gather in the surrounding waters to catch the show.

July 12 is also the date for Montauk's annual pyrotechnic celebration, which will begin once the sky darkens over Gin Beach.

Boys Harbor Date

The annual benefit picnic and fireworks show at the Harbor for Girls and Boys in East Hampton will come later, on July 19. Three Mile Harbor is usually filled to capacity with visiting boats for this event, and again the East Hampton Power Squadron will raft up, this time for an overnight stay.

Farther afield, fireworks will light up the skies tonight above the North Sea Fire Department's carnival at the fairgrounds on Noyac Road. The carnival will continue through Saturday, with rides opening at 7 each night.

Meanwhile, the Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons has issued a reminder that dogs and fireworks do not mix. Because canine hearing is extremely sensitive, ARF warned this week, dogs are easily frightened. ARF said it received more reports of lost dogs over the Fourth of July weekend than at any other time of the year.

Annual Parade

Last, but not least, the holiday will be marked tomorrow at 10 a.m. in Southampton with the annual parade by the Combined Veterans Organizations. The parade will step off from the railroad plaza and will be followed by refreshments and music at Agawam Park.

The Fourth also is being observed by the Town of Southampton with an exhibit of a replica of the Hulburt flag in the meeting room on the second floor of Town Hall.

The Hulburt Flag was carried to Fort Ticonderoga by Capt. John Hulburt's eastern Long Island troops in 1775 and is believed by historians to have inspired the American flag. The Betsy Ross flag is identical to the Hulburt flag, except that the blue field is slightly larger on the former and that the Hulburt flag's stars have six points.

It can be seen during Town Hall hours through July 11.

It had all the potential for another American revolution.

With the big Fourth of July weekend approaching and sunblock walking off the shelves, the East Hampton Town Trustees announced that Georgica Beach would be closed as of yesterday to pedestrians, cars, and horses, all the way from the Georgica Pond gut east to Tides Turn Lane, just west of Main Beach.

The reason for the closing, which was to end at 10 a.m. on Sunday, was to protect endangered piping plov ers that nest along the two-mile stretch.

Before the news got around, however, and well before armies of sun-worshipers could mobilize, the Trustees thought better of the closure. The notice was amended Tuesday to allow pedestrians to use the beach at Georgica for 100 yards in each direction from the road-end.

On the rest of the stretch, however, no one will be allowed to walk, jog, ride a horse, or drive a car until Sunday morning.

Police Won't Enforce

The prospect of having such a popular beach closed for the entire three-day holiday did not fly well with village officials. "We certainly will not have Georgica Beach shut down for the Fourth of July," said Larry Cantwell, the Village Administrator, before the Trustees relented.

Nevertheless, except for its two 100-yard skirts - roughly the length of two football fields - Georgica will not be open tomorrow or Saturday.

Even with the open areas, Mr. Cantwell said the closure was "still overkill." He did credit the Trustees for "realizing" that the original closure was "ridiculous."

"It's not enforceable," Mr. Cantwell added, an opinion echoed by Village Police Chief Glen Stone metz. The restrictions on vehicles will be strictly enforced, Chief Stonemetz said, but the one affecting pedestrians will not be.

The chief said he didn't agree with the ban on pedestrians, and even if he did, there were not enough officers to enforce such an extensive closure.

"A Touch Too Far"

"It's taking it a touch too far," Mr. Cantwell complained. Closing such a broad length of the Atlantic for such a long time, including Saturday night's annual fireworks display off to the east of Main Beach, was "unnecessary," he said, and potentially "disastrous."

The Trustees, who from colonial days have controlled most of East Hampton's beaches and bottomlands, said they were trying to treat all potential threats to plover chicks - strollers, beach vehicles, and equestrians - equally. Diane Mamay, the Trustee Clerk, explained that the impact from pedestrians and vehicles "is equal in the minds of many Trustees."

"Pedestrians walking through the nesting area can be just as disturbing as vehicles," she said, adding that the Trustees are "trying to do our best at a balancing act."

Officials said a plover chick is located in a fenced-ff area between Georgica and Main Beaches and two eggs were expected to hatch by yesterday at another location, between the two Georgica jetties.

Nesting Plovers

Both village and town officials expressed concern that a large amount of beach traffic might shoo the plovers closer to the fireworks-staging site, which Federal guidelines require must be at least three-quarters of a mile away from the nearest nest. The Main Beach fireworks, staged by the East Hampton Fire Department, just meet that requirement.

Fireworks can frighten the tiny birds. Plovers are also threatened by any kind of human activity on the beach, wild and domesticated animals, and kite-flying.

The wording of this year's closure no tice was borrowed from one used last year, though that one affected only a 200-yard portion of the shore west of Georgica Beach, Ms. Mamay said. This year's closure, she conceded, constituted a "substantial in crease."

Crowds At Georgica?

Will there be enough accessible beach at Georgica this weekend to ac com modate sunbathers, swimmers, and surfers? "I guess that'll be enough," Chief Stonemetz said. "I don't know."

The chief and Ms. Mamay were among a number of village and town officials who attended an informal meeting June 24 to discuss a beach closure in light of the existence of plover nests and the fireworks display. The discussion left village officials with the impression that only vehicles would be restricted, but the Trustees made their decision at their own meeting that same night.

Vehicular access to the ocean beach will still be possible east of the temporary closure, from Wiborg's, Old Beach Lane, and Two Mile Hollow beaches. The Main Beach access behind Hook Pond will be open except for the night of the fireworks, when it is used solely by Fire Department and Bay Fireworks personnel.

Monitors On Hand

The Georgica Beach vehicle access has been fenced off for months, since last winter's storms eroded the beach there and created a dangerous dropoff. Chief Stonemetz said once the situation was corrected, the entrance could be reopened.

The sensitive plover areas have already been fenced off, but on Saturday, the night of the fireworks, both police and volunteer plover monitors will make sure people stay away.

The police have asked that those driving onto the beach for the fireworks show exit single-file at Two Mile Hollow, in order to keep traffic away from the crowded village center as well as to minimize impact to the beach.

Roads in direct vicinity of Main Beach are changed to one-way traffic for the night of the fireworks, again in an effort to manage the heavy traffic and ensure safety.