Weekenders' Island

North Haven, with its waterfront bluffs, creek inlets, private communities, and, yes, even its deer, is a popular choice for home and land buyers, according to realtors.

"North Haven is proving to be an exciting place," said Simon Harrison of Harbor Cove Realty in Sag Harbor. "It has the dynamics of an island, with spectacular summer houses on the edge and smaller houses in the middle."

The community's well-established neighborhoods, dearth of commercial zoning, and primarily two-acre zoning are also positive aspects for prospective residents, Mr. Harrison said.

Waterfront property in the village, including its two newest subdivisions, West Banks and North Haven Point, has been snatched up, with "maybe seven pieces remaining," said Alfredo Merat, a broker at Overseas Connection in Sag Harbor.

In The Millions

The prime locations do not come cheap, however. List prices for waterfront houses top out at $8.9 million for a 16,000-square-foot "contemporary stone manor" on 6.5 acres in West Banks. A house that needs sprucing up but has 142 feet of bay frontage goes for $850,000. One of the cheapest waterfront listings is a four-bedroom older ranch home on a half-acre, for $350,000.

According to David Bray, the principal managing director of Allan M. Schneider Associates, houses in the "high one million to two-million plus are the norm."

Particularly in the Fresh Pond area, said Mr. Merat, buyers have been tearing down small two-bedroom cottages and replacing them with larger houses.

"Smaller, less expensive houses are harder to find," said Jane Holden, a broker at Sotheby's in Sag Harbor. Those houses, too, are popular, she said, as homeowners in the private communities are entitled to beach and dock rights.

Out Of Towners

"Most of our market is generated from out of town," said Mr. Bray. Some local residents seeking to "upgrade" look to North Haven, Ms. Holden said. Clients seeking proximity to Sag Harbor and a central location also find it a viable choice.

Many North Haven buyers are "doing the weekend bit," Mr. Bray said, while planning for a future full-time move to the South Fork.

Though the realtors agreed that the problem of the village's oversized deer herd, ticks, and the danger of Lyme disease did not deter potential buyers, Ms. Holden said she knew of a few "deer-friendly" residents, unhappy with the sanctioned deer hunt, who had put their houses up for sale.

Bridge Worries

Also, she said, "a lot of people are worried about the bridge, and about increasing back-roads traffic."

The New York State Department of Transportation plans to replace the bridge over Route 114 linking the village and Sag Harbor. Construction may mean it will have to be closed for a time, and could result in a wider bridge that can accommodate increased truck and automobile traffic.

As for summer rentals, brokers agreed that the market, termed "moderate" by Mr. Bray, was similar to that of other towns. Some renters, said Mr. Harrison, will rent only if they "get their price."

Allan M. Schneider's priciest summer rental lists for $250,000, though summer rentals in the lower ranges are available as well.

This is the ninth article in a series examining various aspects of real estate on the South Fork.

Ask five insiders what's happening with the South Fork's commercial real estate market these days and four of them will start off by recalling last year's sale of the former Whitman Gallery building on East Hampton's Main Street. For many, that sale seems to typify the current situation.

The gallery's owners, the heirs of the late Grace V. Rose, were one of the few local families who emerged from the boom years of the 1980s still holding the deeds to commercial properties acquired by their parents or grandparents.

And, like others, they waited until the market began to show dependable recovery, sometime around 1993, and then waited a little longer, before putting the word out that they would sell for the right price.

Investors Compete

Talk is they quietly approached three or four players with capital. A small bidding war ensued and David Fink and Carl Levine prevailed, paying $1.24 million. It was 67 times the late Mrs. Rose's original $18,500 investment, made in 1960.

The new owners are part of a highly competitive group of investors, perhaps a half-dozen, who are quietly gaining control of the commercial market. Zoning limitations and inflation are tilting the supply-and-demand curve in favor of Robert Ratteni, Leonard I. Ackerman, Ben Krupinski, Mr. Fink, and one or two others with capital enough to pay UpIsland prices and patience enough to take the long view.

"Most of what is for sale is very quietly for sale. No signs out front. That's how much of the commercial business is done here," said Judy Desiderio of Cook Pony Farm, one of just a few South Fork brokers who specialize in retail, light industrial, and office spaces.

Quiet Sellers

Most of the time she waits in the car while prospective buyers take a first look around, because, she said, sellers do not want customers to recognize her and surmise the place is on the market.

"An owner-operator, especially, doesn't want to disturb things, doesn't want the word to get out, unless his price is met," she said.

Indeed, owners of commercial property who want to sell rarely go public unless they're desperate.

Duke's, later the Aqua Grill, was a highly successful Tex-Mex restaurant for eight years before it was sold to its current owners, for $793,000. After they spent a fistful transforming the rough-and-tumble barn into a Tuscan villa that shimmied right up to the highway, the restaurant struggled for two seasons.

It is now one of just two or three businesses in town with a For Sale sign out front.

No Takers

The asking price is $1.8 million, a bit ambitious even in today's market. The pitch: high visibility, seats 200, plenty of parking, two cottages for staff housing, barely used equipment, truly a turnkey operation.

It shows well, but so far no takers. It seems that just as the presence of a broker could cast a chill on a thriving business, a shortage of customers is sure to throw a property into the deep freeze.

But by all accounts the commercial market is performing well for a chosen few. The major players are, as Ms. Desiderio put it, "repeat customers who are all in the acquisition phase," paying purchase prices and charging rents that are growing comparable to those in year-round communities.

New Players

"A shopping center in the middle of the Island may get a greater short-term rate of return, 18 percent on a cash-on-cash return instead of 10 percent here, but here we have enormous returns over the long haul. As a result, there are these new players in town who view our commercial properties as an untapped resource, if you can wait 20 years or more," said Ms. Desiderio.

Mr. Ratteni specializes in Main Street acquisitions, buying buildings such as the one in East Hampton that rents to the Coach leather store and the Bridgehampton one that includes the Golden Pear.

"I'm willing to forsake a little income now for a good return when the mortgage is paid off," he said. "It's a steady, long-term investment. Considerable outlay, minimal profit potential at first. Breakeven or less for two to five years, but 20 years from now your daughter will be interviewing my son about why he's selling."

Zoning's Role

Zoning that values residential property as least likely to damage the environment has deliberately limited the size of commercial and business districts, thereby pushing up prices and rents.

Town Assessors' records confirm the limited growth. For example, they show 70 motels, hotels, inns, and resort complexes in the town and village in 1994 and 73 this year.

"Through zoning, government has cut off the supply. They couldn't do more to increase the value, so we should be giving them a big thank-you," said Mr. Fink.

The downside is that the demand for tax-funded services is growing in proportion to the population, most notably in the public schools, and the commercial tax base here is not keeping pace.

"There's been no growth in Springs, and very little in Amagansett in the last few years," said Town Assessor Fred Overton.

Wainscott Upzoning

Town Councilwoman Nancy Mc Caffrey recently opposed the upzoning of hundreds of commercially zoned acres in Wainscott, saying more residential development there would mean more children enrolling in the one-room schoolhouse, where she is also District Clerk.

The upzoning to residential use was put on indefinite hold, pending an impact study, after opponents charged it would kneecap the business community's chances for future growth. And, the idea of swapping the rights to commercial-industrial development with properties elsewhere in town is gaining momentum, added Assessor Jeanne Nielsen.

Upzonings anywhere would, some noted, also have the unintended but obvious benefit for the investors of further limiting the supply and increasing the value of what remained.

Investor Confident

Mr. Fink, a Manhattan lawyer who said he rounds out his portfolio with commercial properties in the city and on Main Street in East Hampton, predicted there will be a growing and constant demand for rental space, due to a combination of zoning and economic inflation.

"Every time I feel as though we've hit a ceiling, we punch through to a whole new level," agreed Ms. Desiderio. "The market across the country shows East Hampton is not just the cream. It's the cream of the cream."

But, borrowing a phrase from Alan Greenspan, Mr. Fink cautioned that brokers and players ought not become too optimistic, in a replay of the "irrational exuberance" of the early 1980s.

Whitman Building

"Prices are peaking and, if history is a guide, then we'll see prices coming down again," he said. He now charges rents of about $60 a square foot for street-level retail and $15 a square foot for office space on the second floor.

From his perspective, the Whitman building was a bargain at roughly $280 a square foot.

East Hampton's former Village Hall, he said, had sold not too long before for a price approaching $500 a square foot.

"We bought [the Whitman building] because it was very cheap," he said, adding that "the real land barons are the old families who have owned certain properties for 30 years or more."

Downtown Montauk

As for vacant commercial land, the prevailing opinion is that there isn't enough.

Frank Tuma was named by three other Montauk brokers as the hamlet's expert on the commercial market there, and he said zoning made it tough these days to build anything viable. There are two or three tiny lots for sale downtown near the Montauk Post Office, each about 40 by 100 feet, but "it's been hard to get anyone to look at them."

The same is true at the docks, where Mr. Tuma said he last saw activity about two years ago when he sold one for $150,000 and the other for $85,000. Both are back on the market, still undeveloped, for $125,000 and $150,000 respectively.

Standing Room Only

The developed business districts in Montauk are all rented, as elsewhere in the area. "Four or five years ago there were many, many empties, but now it's standing room only. The season is gradually stretching out, April through Thanksgiving, and this is becoming more and more a year-round community," said Peter Hallock, president of Allen M. Schneider Real Estate.

While there is an obvious demand for commercial-industrial land, to build a carpenter's workshop, for example, "there's no zoning for it in the land that's remaining," said Mr. Tuma. As a result, he said, landscapers and carpenters are forced to operate illegally out of their garages at home.

Most of the vacant commercial land on the South Fork is in Southampton, with a little on the tracks in Wainscott. "But even that is not really available. It's tough to pry it loose from the owners," said Judy Desiderio.

Can't Be Done

Take the case of the Talmage family, who argued passionately against the Wainscott upzoning. They said they bought their 5.8-acre parcel on the tracks as a place to expand their construction company.

Steve Mahoney sold a one-acre parcel near there, with a work building and an office, to Delfino Insulation for about $400,000. The Talmage land is worth far more as commercial-industrial; considerably less, especially given the unattractive location, as a house lot or two.

"Our zoning is laid into place in such a way that commercial opportunities are few and far between," said Mr. Hallock. "The questions we get the most of, every season and even year-round, and always from someone who doesn't understand the Hamptons, is, 'Where can I build a hotel?' and, 'I found this lovely building. Can I turn it into a restaurant?' I have to tell them it can't be done."

Mom And Pop

Mr. Tuma likewise reported from Montauk "a big demand and very little supply," a situation that has pushed that hamlet's retail rental prices to over $20 a square foot.

Mr. Hallock said the Saks Fifth Avenue store in Southampton was maximizing the limited space available there by taking over two adjacent units for an expanded men's department and using its existing store to expand the women's.

It's not news, only more and more true as each season passes, that the prevailing rents are beyond the means of the mom-and-pop stores that used to line South Fork Main Streets. Only specialized boutiques and major outlets can afford the rents now, and the locals are shopping in the Tanger Mall.

"There's no turning that clock back, because when someone buys a building and pays between $800,000 and $1.4 mil, they have to cover that. They can't rent to mom and pop," said Mr. Hallock.

The wave of mergers and acquisitions sweeping the radio business has reached East Hampton's shores. On June 10, the East Hampton Broadcasting Group, which owns WEHM, and the C&S Radio Corporation, the owner of WBEA, based in Amagansett, announced they were joining forces as Hamptons Media Holdings Inc. The merger requires approval of the Federal Communications Commission.

Under the merger, both stations will remain on the air, but their offices will be combined. The company will be jointly managed by Frederick Seegal, president of Wasserstein Perella and Company, a New York investment banking firm, and Derrick Cephas, an attorney, who launched WBEA with a partner, Robert Shriver. Mr. Seegal recently acquired a majority stake in WEHM.

Although the pair said that on-air and other personnel changes were not envisioned, two key staff members of WEHM have announced they are leaving the station.

Going Elsewhere

Paul Conroy, who served as WEHM's general manager until Tuesday, has joined WBAZ in Southold. Steve Richards, WEHM's program director and morning disk jockey, said this week he was unhappy over the station's decision to merge "with an inferior product" and had taken a similar job with a station elsewhere "in the region."

"Steve and I were the first two employees, and we're leaving," said Mr. Conroy. "I think that tells you something. The station isn't going to remain the same."

Mr. Richards, who oversaw the creation of WEHM's format, which blends contemporary and older rock music, said he had given his "life" to the station and was concerned about possible programming changes that would make its sound similar to WBEA, whose format features more dance music and is, he said, "more generic," like other FM rock stations.

Won't Be The Same

"It's like The East Hampton Star merging with The Waldo Tribune," added Ivor Pine, a former disk jockey at WEHM who moved to KISS in Los Angeles a year ago. Mr. Pine was also one of WEHM's first employees.

But Mr. Seegal said their concerns were misguided.

"Both guys were opposed to the merger, so they decided to move on," he said yesterday, "but the station will continue with the same format as in the past."

Mr. Seegal said WEHM "doesn't really need a general manager." It is, however, looking for a replacement for Mr. Richards, he said.

At WBEA, Zoe Kamitses will stay on as general manager. "We've got everyone in place, and we're excited about the merger," she said yesterday.

Economies Of Scale

When he bought into the station, Mr. Seegal said one of his first priorities would be to make the station profitable. But both he and Mr. Cephas said the merger, in which no money changed hands, was not necessary for either's survival, but would help in the long run.

"In the East Hampton market, broadly defined you'd have to include both forks, there are an awful lot of radio stations and newspapers," Mr. Seegal said. "At some point it is logical that there will be winners and losers. We want to position ourselves to be one of the winners."

"It made very good business sense, given the economies we can enjoy and the opportunities available to us," said Mr. Cephas.

"We haven't worked through the details, but we are going to be under the same roof, which in and of itself offers some benefits," Mr. Seegal said.

WEHM's studio is on Pantigo Road in East Hampton. WBEA operates from a building off Main Street in Amagansett. Both men said all aspects of the business would be reviewed in the coming months.

The merger was made possible when the Government relaxed rules prohibiting broadcasting companies from owning more than one station in the same market. Mr. Cephas said he saw "no stumbling blocks" that would prevent approval within three months.

Light Tackle Mecca

Sportfishing on the East End has been evolving for more than 100 years. The species stay the same, but the equipment changes, as do the spots anglers want to go to, or must go to, to fish.

This week, as offshore sportsfishers prepare for migrating tuna and sharks to arrive, surfcasters and inshore fishermen are up to their fly rods in striped bass. The fly-rodding and light-tackle revolution that started several years ago has taken root in East Hampton Town.

Long known for its productive fishing, the area of Gardiner's Bay, Block Island Sound, and Montauk Point (on calm days) is fast becoming a mecca for the light-tackle aficionado.

Weaks And Blues

Harvey Bennett has guided lightly armed anglers for years. Mr. Bennett reported weakfish at Cherry Harbor, Gardiner's Island. He said he and Harold McMahon found bluefish on light tackle at Cartwright Shoal, south of the island.

Capt. Dave Blinken operates a guide service out of Accabonac Harbor. He said that on Sunday he had a few "never-evers" on board, first-time flycasters, who nonetheless hooked up and had the pleasure of watching a bass in the 30-pound range swim by the boat.

Paul Dixon, owner of Dixon's Sporting Life shop in Wainscott, runs the To The Point charter service offering anglers a southern, flats-style approach to casting for striped bass now, and for the wily bonito later on.

Luring The Experts

Yesterday afternoon from his boat he reported that his anglers had already caught 75 striped bass up to 31 inches long by blind-casting Clouser flies. He said they were casting blind for most of the day because the lack of sun prevented the more exciting sight-casting - picking a bass visible in the shallow water to cast to. The shallow draft of the Dixon boats allow a kind of fishing previously enjoyed by surfcasters, but with a pick of many more spots.

The flats stuff is hot enough right now to have attracted some of the bigger names in fly fishing to the East End. Due to arrive today were Left Kreh, author of "Saltwater Fly Fishing," as well as Bob Popovics and Nick Curcione, renowned fishermen and writers on the art of fly fishing.

Fluke are still being caught around Montauk - in the north rips by the Point, off Rocky Point, and on the South Side. Henry Uihlein of Uihlein's Boat Yard and Rentals in Montauk reported that Bob Fatigate was drifting squid and spearing in the rips on Sunday when he hooked a six-pound fluke.

Blue Sharks

Mike Bartlett, who keeps his 20-foot Pro Line at Uihlein's, caught 12 fluke up to four pounds on Saturday on an outgoing tide, also at the rips. Mr. Uihlein reported flounders still taking the hook in Lake Montauk by the buoys near the Montauk Yacht Club. He advises anglers to chum with mussels and worms on incoming and high tides.

Meanwhile, the 1,182 anglers on 193 boats who participated in the shark tournament at Star Island Yacht Club on Friday and Saturday made do with blue sharks. The heaviest fish was boated by Jim Haney on Angler, his own boat. It weighed 217 pounds. Not surprisingly, it also won the heaviest blue shark category.

Meat Donated

A 191-pound blue was the second-place winner caught by Ron Stallone on the Christaina Rose, captained by Joe Catalano. Pat Augustine on Capt. Al Mott's Lil Ocean Annie finished third with a 184-pounder.

A total of 42 fish were weighed, 857 were released, and 3,000 pounds of shark meat were donated for distribution to the needy by the Long Island Council of Churches.

John Kelly of the National Marine Fisheries Service's Highly Migratory Species division reported bluefin tuna were in the area of Ocean City, Md., and Virginia and heading north.

The Angling Category of bluefin fishermen is dividing Northerners - those who fish north of 38 degrees, 47 minutes north latitude - and Southerners who fish south of the same latitude. This season the Northerners have been promised 57 percent of the overall quota to make up for shortfalls for the last several seasons caused by overfishing in the southern area.

Displeased By Limit

The season for that area is scheduled to close on June 27 for all sizes of bluefin except those of school size. Northern anglers may begin taking bluefin of the school, large-school, or small-medium sizes, 27 to 73 inches, in length as soon as they show up.

The bag limit is one of any size tuna per vessel per trip, except for large-medium and giant tuna, those over 73 inches long. Anglers are allowed only one "trophy" class tuna per season.

Charter boat captains who have felt shortchanged in the tuna department for the last couple seasons are expressing displeasure at the one-tuna-per-vessel-per-trip law.

The trustees of the Ross School in East Hampton believe they have hit upon such a successful formula for education that they are planning to establish an institute where scholars from all over the world might develop and share, via computer, teaching methods and curriculum.

The concept for a Ross Institute, while several years from attainment, is the South Fork's most ambitious plan for education since Southampton College was created. When established there would be a 130-acre campus, a "virtual" school, where teachers would train, and the school for actual children, from kindergarten through 12th grade.

The Ross School, which has educated 48 fifth through eighth-grade girls this year, is ready to open a high school in September.

Klein Stepping Down

It will not, however, be run by its present executive director. Shirley Klein, the school's fifth administrator in as many years, is to step down at the end of this academic year, after only a year in the post.

"For personal reasons, it is best for me to continue my relationship with the Ross School as a consultant," said Ms. Klein yesterday. She declined to comment on the frequent turnover, saying recruitment was bringing in a group of new teachers for the fall and that the school was "in solid shape."

So far, no one has been named to replace her, she said, adding that the entire administrative structure would be "revisited" with that in mind over the summer.

Daunting Task

"It will be a daunting task to prepare students for the 21st century. One of the great needs is to prepare teachers to teach for the 21st century," said George Biondo, a lawyer who spent 15 years on the Montauk Public School Board and is now a trustee and spokesman for the private school, which is largely financed by Courtney Sale Ross, an East Hampton resident, and named for her husband, the late Steven J. Ross.

Mr. Biondo said the institute would "bring together the great minds and the great technology and the great shared concern, all together in this one place. I can't think of anything more exciting to have going on in our own backyard, right here in East Hampton."

The high school is to open in September with a dozen ninth-graders, half of them boys. When they move on to the 10th grade, a second coed class of ninth-graders will enroll, and so on until there is a class of 12 in each high school level.

Chronological Curriculum

There are reported to be long waiting lists for middle school enrollment and already for the high school, though Ms. Klein declined to specify how long. Many students attend on scholarship and the student body is deliberately diverse.

The curriculum is now designed as a chronological journey through cultural history. During a recent tour, a selected group of girls explained the educational philosophy.

Kendra Stanchfield drew a spiral, and showed the curve where the eighth grade stood this year - in the Middle Ages and Renaissance - and where the seventh grade stood - in ancient Rome - and the sixth grade - in ancient Greece.

Other Disciplines

She explained that the various disciplines - language, literature, art, music, astronomy, mythology and religious history, social science, performing arts, computers, math, and science - are taught all at once, and in relation to a particular time period. A cross section of the spiral is drawn as a flower, with each petal representing a discipline.

"At the core is the core class, the cultural history. We call it integrated studies because all the subjects are integrated into one class," said Pamela Council, a sixth-grader.

She said her class studied ancient Greece in part by designing Greek urns, using Pythagoras's geometric theory to achieve symmetry and what they had learned about the art and mythology of the period for authenticity.

Student Views

Pamela, who previously attended the Hampton Day School, said at that school, in Bridgehampton, "she was in one class all day, and every day we learned something different. Now it's more organized."

Kinara Ann Flagg, a seventh-grader, said she had been a student at the East Hampton Middle School. "We might study one culture for only two weeks. The subjects had less meaning for me," she said.

Connecting Subjects

When the students were asked if they thought their previous schools had less explicit teaching philosophies, or simply did not share them with the students, Ms. Klein suggested they talk instead about how the Ross method made more sense to them.

Kinara "loved" the public Middle School, "but we learned social studies from a textbook. I didn't understand how everything was connected," she said.

Ms. Klein said each class temporarily departs from the time period it is studying to make comparisons with the 20th century.

"They're really excited about learning. That's how you know it's working," said Ms. Klein, noting a trend toward interdisciplinary learning, which she described as "a more authentic way of learning and teaching."

Forum Romanum

A group of girls went to Rome last year for three weeks, creating a classroom each evening with laptops and, when they returned, a Web page they named Forum Romanum. It was made up of poetry, travel journals, and digital images they had E-mailed home.

"The best three weeks of my life," said Kendra.

Each student is judged by the quality of her portfolio, a collection of her best projects, reports, and other examples of her work. There are no grades.

The high school, however, will be Regents accredited, and students there will have a list of required classes and grades.

The experimental school was founded in 1991 by Ms. Ross and her late husband, Steven J. Ross, after a home-teaching experiment for their daughter, Nicole, grew beyond a handful of Nicole's friends.

Ms. Ross is the philosophical as well as financial force behind the school and apparently has maintained firm control over its day-to-day operations, even requiring new employees to pledge that they will not discuss school matters with outsiders. She has pulled together a diversified board to oversee the school and to work on plans for the teaching institute.

Chance To Share

Mr. Biondo said the State Education Department had given the school "significant cooperation," allowing private schools to be innovative and "not thwarted in every attempt by all the rules, unions, etc."

He said the group had been talking with scholars at "numerous universities, and corporate entities that have the technical capabilities to make the Ross Institute's work widely available."

Aside from hiring a number of retired East Hampton public school teachers, the school has had few links to the surrounding community, among them some athletic competitions, sharing some methodology with the Springs School, and membership in the Peconic Teachers Association.

Ms. Klein said the school wanted its students "to have more contact with other schools" and was hoping the work of the institute would "give us a chance to share."

The Steeple - what! - the Steeple -

Don't say that it has gone!

Thus spoke the village people

With voice and face forlorn.

Oh, lovely, lofty steeple,

We loved thee from the heart -

Thy curious construction,

Thy myriad types of art!"

From "The Steeple"

By Annie Cooper Boyd

Sag Harbor, 1938

When the Rev. Joseph Copp preached the dedication sermon at Sag Harbor's Old Whalers Church on May 16, 1844, 1,000 worshipers listened.

More than 153 years later, on Saturday evening, the church's congregation of 100 families and a 15-member committee hope at least that many will attend another milestone there - the kickoff to a $3 million campaign to rebuild its 187-foot steeple and renovate the building.

This time, the actress Claire Bloom will read from early accounts of life in Sag Harbor, Judy Carmichael of Sag Harbor, a stride pianist, will perform, and a new chapter in the venerable church's history will begin. The event will start at 6:30 p.m.

To Raise $1 Million

More than craftsmanship may be involved as the historic Sag Harbor church is brought up to date - by the millennium, church officials predict. Indeed, the price tag on the steeple alone is about $1 million.

Aware from the beginning that the project would be costly, the renovation committee has been pursuing some decidedly nontraditional fund sources.

"We are talking with Bell Atlantic-NYNEX, AT&T, and Next Wave, another telecommunications company," said Larry Carlson, the campaign's president, about putting a cellular phone antenna inside the steeple.

Need For Towers

"It makes total sense," said Mr. Carlson, a Bridgehampton resident and member of the congregation who is an executive vice president at Time Warner for Home Box Office.

Mr. Carlson was referring to the fact that telecommunications companies have expressed interest in improving cell phone service here but have had generally negative reactions.

"There is concern about aesthetics," Mr. Carlson said.

Mr. Carlson declined to speculate on how much the church might charge for bringing an antenna heavenward, but Leonard Mayhew, a development consultant in Sag Harbor and the campaign spokesman, said, "Why not ask $1 million?"

List To Leeward

Mr. Carlson said the idea to put an antenna inside the steeple was not unique to Sag Harbor. They are being installed in such places as the tops of lighting fixtures in football stadiums, and he knew of at least one in a church in New England, he said.

Observers familiar with tax law said that, while any financial gains the church realized from commercial leases would be subject to taxation, the project would in no way interfere with the church's nonprofit status.

Sag Harbor's 153-year-old Presbyterian landmark has fascinated chroniclers for decades and engaged the support of luminaries in the past. Margaret (Mrs. Russell) Sage, a Sag Harbor philanthropist, had the original steeple repaired in 1910.

The steeple, a welcome sight to returning seamen, had been damaged in an 1898 blizzard, which, according to a newspaper report, caused it to "list to leeward." Mrs. Sage made a then-generous $5,500 donation to have it set right, but the effort was unsuccessful, as it was fastened to its foundation at only one corner.

Fell In Hurricane

Its fall was one of the 1938 Hurricane's dramatic effects. It was lifted from the building, according to reports, "like an errant umbrella," and crashed to the ground beside the church, its bell, some said, still tolling.

The Old Whalers Church was designed by the renowned New York architect Minard Lafever and completed in 1844, during the heyday of Sag Harbor's whaling industry, when it boasted a fleet of 62 ships. Paid for almost entirely from the sea, the structure cost $17,000 to build, plus $2,000 for its property.

The exterior is considered one of America's finest examples of Egyptian Revival architecture; its Greek Revival interior boasts a pulpit flanked by two 50-foot Corinthian columns rising to a coffered ceiling. Its organ, installed in 1845, is the oldest working organ in a Long Island church. The church is one of only 200 structures in New York State with national historic landmark status, obtained in 1994.

Earlier Donations

The campaign to renovate the building began after Randy Croxton of Sag Harbor, a New York architect, completed a structure report on the building in connection with its application for landmark status. The congregation subsequently raised roughly $350,000, $50,000 of it in the form of a grant from the State Department of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation.

About half that amount has been spent. The projects have included reconstruction of the ceiling, roof improvements, asbestos removal, and repair of the heating system, facade, and steps.

Renewal

Because the church also serves "a community function," said Mr. Carlson, a committee outside the church was organized as the "Whalers' Landmark Restoration Campaign," a nonprofit organization, to seek donations. Its members are diverse in demographics and religious background. The committee has identified about 3,000 potential donors, who soon will be receiving letters.

The Rev. Christine Grimbol, who has been the church's pastor for the past decade, is credited with doubling the church's membership during her tenure, and especially with attracting young people.

Unique Construction

Renovation of the church's Sunday school classrooms, repair of its colored-glass windows, and a complete paint job are among the priorities, said Mr. Mayhew. A second-floor gallery to house historic documents, and, among other treasures, the weathervane from the original steeple, also is planned.

The steeple's construction was unique. Its three tapering sections resembled an extended telescope, with each of the sections smaller than the one beneath it. Its reconstruction is to be the final stage of the project.

Jason Epstein and Elizabeth Barlow, in their book "East Hampton: A History and Guide," described it well.

"The lowest section was an octo gonal shaft in the style of Christopher Wren, surrounded by eight Corinthian columns. Four clocks were built into its pediment."

"The second section was a truncated paneled cone, decorated with Phoenician swastikas, a symbol of good luck. At the top was a towering pagoda with fluttering eaves."

At Saturday's open house Mr. Croxton will lead a tour of the building and refreshments donated by Sag Harbor businesses will be served. The free event is expected to last no longer than an hour.

The "money fish" is what baymen once called striped bass because it was the one plentiful enough and valuable enough to pay the bills. But the money fish dried up, as contamination and regulation put bass beyond the reach of commercial fishermen for more than a decade.

In the past few years, the population of bass, now considered safe to eat by the state, has been exploding all along the East Coast. And while sport fishermen are taking advantage of the bounty, the more stringent regulations on the commercial catch have not been eased.

Local fishermen are hoping that a new approach to counting bass will persuade fishing authorities to boost the existing quota in the not-too-distant future.

Battle Over Taxes

While a more lenient management plan promises to help fill fishermen's pockets, right now they are concerned that the Internal Revenue Service is trying to empty those pockets. The baymen have been battling the I.R.S. over taxes owed on money received in the settlement of a legal battle with General Electric over its contamination of the Hudson River.

United States Representative Michael Forbes said Tuesday that he had misspoken last week when he reported that the I.R.S. had forgiven both interest and penalties on the unexpected tax bills received by New York State's commercial striped bass fishermen in the G.E. settlement.

Mr. Forbes said the I.R.S. had informed him that the cases of fishermen who did not pay income tax on their share of the $7 million settlement would be reviewed individually. The Government would waive the penalty part of the bill, said the Congressman, but is forbidden by law to waive the interest.

"It would take an act of Congress to change that, so that's what I'm looking into," Mr. Forbes said.

G.E. Settlement

Last year General Electric settled out of court with market and charter boat fishermen who had banded together to sue the company over its 40-year policy of dumping polychlorinated biphenyls into the Hudson River, home to striped bass. They had argued successfully that the P.C.B.s had contaminated the bass they depended on for their livelihood.

The $7 million settlement was split among several hundred fishermen. However, G.E. never sent the fishermen W-2 forms, used to report income to the I.R.S.

Fishermen assumed, therefore, that the money was being viewed as an award for damages and not as income. Not so. The bills were in the mail, and meanwhile many of the hard-pressed fishermen had used their settlement money to buy new boats and gear, or to pay old debts.

Loss Of Livelihood

Mr. Forbes has been "in constant communication" with the I.R.S. ever since the bills went out, he said this week.

There was no precedent, at the time of the G.E. settlement, for the tax treatment of the money. Since then, however, the Supreme Court has ruled in a similar case, involving the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska, that fishermen who were reimbursed for lost income after the spill had to pay taxes on the money.

The argument that the G.E. money represented not reimbursed income, but rather recompense for damaged lifestyles and loss of livelihood, has so far fallen on deaf ears. And, Mr. Forbes said Tuesday, he will not attempt to introduce a private bill in Congress seeking an exception to the tax law, because the chances of approval are so slim.

Also unlikely, though less so, is the chance of getting the interest part of the tax bills forgiven by a special act of Congress. "I'm exploring to see if this is possible. I'm more optimistic, but it's still a long shot," Mr. Forbes admitted. "I could just introduce it and look like a good guy, but this is too serious for window-dressing. I don't want to play that game. I'm going to proceed, and if there's a ray of hope I'm going to follow it."

Counting On More Fish

Meanwhile, those who manage bass believe the fish have become so abundant that it's time to restructure the coastwide management plan. Some think there are so many striped bass around that their cumulative appetite is gobbling up the young of other species - a hard thing to measure.

Their first job - one that could have important implications for hard-pressed local baymen - will be to count the fish.

Arnold Leo, secretary of the East Hampton Town Baymen's Association, an organization advocating a larger share of the resource for commercial fishermen, said a new system could finally give baymen, and other market fishermen, a larger share of the striped bass pie. If put into effect, the new model would recognize the existence of numbers of fish which the old model did not, he said.

Too Conservative?

"In 1996 New York sportfishermen killed 6.5 million pounds," according to state figures, Mr. Leo said, "and commercial bass fishermen were held to an average of historical landings without the same flexibility to grow, despite the state of the stock." Last year market fishermen did not fill their 520,000-pound quota.

Recognition of the presence of more fish would make it much harder for anti-commercial lobbies to argue for maintaining the current uneven allocation system, Mr. Leo said.

East Hampton baymen have complained for over a decade that the current management scheme, designed by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, was overly conservative because it used only the Chesapeake Bay to gauge the abundance of bass along the entire Atlantic Coast.

While allowing that the Chesapeake estuary, with its five contributing rivers, once yielded the largest share of the anadromous fish to the migratory schools, baymen argued the plan ignored the influence of other estuaries, particularly New York's own Hudson River.

For its part, the commission argued that individual year classes from the Chesapeake were important enough to the overall coastwide population to deserve special attention. Studies determined that the 1982 class of bass was the last big one before the population crash of the 1980s. It was used as a benchmark. Regulations were adopted to protect that and subsequent classes from the Chesapeake alone.

The minimum size limit given sportfishermen grew, starting with 24 inches in November of 1983 and increasing at a pace that protected the Chesapeake bass of 1982 "and all subsequent year-class females such that 95 percent were given an opportunity to spawn at least once." In New York, the minimum size actually went to 38 inches between May 1989 and September 1990.

Since the early 1980s, commercial fishermen have been given a quota - an average of historic landings. The fishing moratorium imposed between May of 1986 and September of 1987 and other restrictions prompted by polychlorinated bi phen yl contamination in the Hudson River complicated bass management for commercial fishermen in New York.

May Change Method

The current method used to determine the relative success of the Chesapeake spawn is called the "young-of-the-year index," and it, in turn, is used almost exclusively to gauge the numerical health of the entire coastal stock. Each year, using seines, scientists would catch and count the number of yearling bass (young of the year) in the Chesapeake's various estuaries.

If the striped bass board of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission takes the advice of its technical committee, managers will soon manage by "biomass," that is, accounting for the entire body of fish, as they do in other fisheries, most notably the tuna and swordfish fisheries.

Using a statistical model called "Virtual Population Analysis," an estimate of the total resource is made. The new model uses much more information - contributions of bass from most of the estuaries on the coast, for instance.

Meeting In July

A meeting of the striped bass board scheduled for July will address the V.P.A. model and five possible ways the total bass pie might be divided first among states, and second among fishermen within states.

Victor Vecchio, a marine biologist with the State Department of Environmental Conservation, did not discount the political side of the issue, but agreed with the technical committee of the Atlantic States Commission that the V.P.A. approach would at least provide the opportunity to change allocation policy.

"You would hope that science and fairness would prevail," Mr. Leo said. "The problem is the political situation - sportfishermen want it all."

When Is Season?

East Hampton

June 10, 1997

Dear Mrs. Rattray,

It's an outrage! A sweet young girl sits in the office at Main Beach reading a book, waiting for "customers" to collect the $150 fee for an East Hampton Village beach parking permit sticker. She is getting paid to sit there while no facilities are available to those of us who have already paid for our parking stickers and another $150 for the use of "lockers."

It is 3:40 p.m. on Tuesday, June 10, a beautiful warm day. The bathrooms are not open to the public, nor is the bathhouse and interior bathrooms that I, and others, have paid to use in "season." When is season? Is it when it is convenient for the village authorities arbitrarily to decide to open the facilities? Right now, it seems arbitrary.

In the past the bathhouse and all bathrooms were open from 9 a.m. untill 5:30 p.m. from the weekend before Memorial Day weekend continu ing all week long until two weeks after Labor Day weekend. More recently, the price of the lockers and stickers has increased from $100 to $110 and then to $150 while the services have been cut. Last summer the bathhouse was open only until 5 p.m. The excuse was that there wasn't enough money to pay the youngsters.

If the starting work hours were staggered (i.e., very few workers from 9 to 10:30 a.m. when there aren't too many beachgoers), then there would be enough money left to have the beach workers keep the bathhouse open until 5:30 p.m. and still have time to clean up by 6 p.m. In the summer, the nicest time of the day is in the late afternoon, but we have to put our beach chairs into the lockers before 5 p.m. and use the bathrooms also before that time. The doors close. This is for the convenience of the crew; it should be for the convenience of those paying!

Another excuse we have heard is that the beach facilities can't be opened earlier in the season because the young workers are in school. There are plenty of senior citizens and other available persons who are willing to work before school is out and again in September.

It is interesting to note that the village has enough staff to patrol the area to issue parking summonses to cars without stickers, but for those who paid for lockers and stickers there aren't enough staff members to receive the services already paid for and due them. Since I was told by the attendant that she did not have the keys to open the bathrooms and locker area (which seemed ironic because it was open for painters) and that the facilities are now open only on weekends from Memorial Day to July 1, wouldn't it then be appropriate that the price for the use of lockers and beach stickers be reduced to reflect the same time loss of services? The villages wants our money early, but the services come late and short.

Sincerely,

SUSAN STERN

Traffic Chute

Amagansett

June 15, 1997

Dear Star:

There goes the neighborhood!

I live in a real neighborhood with kids who bike and set up skateboard ramps from garden wall to street, and pets that visit neighbors and cross roads. We walk and bike along the road and into the village. About the only traffic is us coming out of our driveways, and we know to go slow and stop for the school bus that picks the kids up.

We are an American dream neighborhood with old and young, some rich, some poor, but most somewhere truly in the middle. Among our homeowners are a number of fishermen, a long-distance trucker, a lawyer, an artist, an ad executive, a photographer, a musician, a house painter, a plumber, and some retirees. Most are full-time residents with kids in school.

The Star's notion to put the commercial section behind the parking lot with easterly egress on Windmill Lane and Schellinger Road would make a traffic chute of our lanes, destroying the tranquillity, the safety, and the neighborhood itself.

We could not get our cars out of our driveways and certainly not be able to bicycle, skate, take walks, or feel safe about our kids.

It would be sacrificing the people of this community to commercialism.

The Amagansett Corridor Study recognized this and advisedly suggested development eastward where commercial development already exists and where, north to the railroad, there are no private houses or existing residential community.

No matter what plan is finally arrived at, a road from the town parking lot making a traffic chute out of a lovely, quiet little neighborhood must be stopped.

Yours truly,

SUSAN WOOD RICHARDSON

Please address correspondence to [email protected]

Please include your full name, address and daytime telephone number for purposes of verification.

Even those who wouldn't normally drive from East Hampton to Montauk for dinner must have had their curiosity piqued by the Town Dock's ads - rude jibes at competitors, or "Monday: Short bald people eat half price; Weekends: Everyone pays double to make up for specials," or really bad-taste jokes about Heaven's Gate.

Something tells you that diners at the Town Dock, whose sister restaurant is the Dock down by the harbor, won't be barred from the place if they aren't wearing a tie.

Montauk was not exactly hopping last Thursday and we were able to park right outside what looked like the hamlet's answer to the East Hampton comfort station.

"That's it?" asked an accompanying guest, dubiously.

Nope, No Airs

The place has more charm inside, but it's a down-to-earth no-tablecloths sort of place. A prominent sign in the doorway requesting guests to control their children or go elsewhere struck a chord in this reviewer's heart, but it was a little in-your-face.

The menu is simple - chowders, salads, pasta, lots of fish - and, compared to so many other East End restaurants, downright cheap. Appetizers range from $4 to $8.50, with steamed littlenecks a bit more, and entrees from $8 for a hamburger to $20 for a Black Angus steak. The red wine by the glass is a chilled chianti, the white a chardonnay, and there are a couple of beers on tap.

Anyway, you get the picture - we were expecting an inexpensive meal but nobody's hopes were very high in the oohing and aahing department.

Appetizer Epiphany

It was, I think, the arrival of the smoked salmon and goat cheese quesadilla that made us see that a quick reassessment was in order. The very lightest and crispest circle of tortilla, served warm, was spread with goat cheese and topped with salmon, with a little pile of fresh salsa in the center. It was an epiphany that disappeared in a flurry of grabbing hands.

The New England clam chowder was really good, full of flavor and clams (a bit chewy, but clams do that sometimes), not overthickened, and a bargain at $4. We also tried three different salads, all of which were fine, with the tomato, mozzarella, and arugula with a basil vinaigrette coming out a little ahead.

Other appetizers included steamed mussels, clams casino, nachos, jalapeno poppers, and a grilled portobello mushroom with roasted pepper and goat cheese.

And The Entrees . . .

The enormous portion of marinated pork chops looked like an advertisement for dinosaur chops from Spielberg's "The Lost World," but mercifully turned out to be juicy, tender, and better than the movie. They were served with homemade apple sauce, full of taste and comforting chunks.

The honey mustard salmon with sauteed spinach was perfectly cooked, and the sweet mustard provided an interesting and unusual contrast of flavors. Broiled local flounder with lemon parsley butter was fine, though there's not too much one can say about flounder.

Everyone has their little dining quirks - mine is that ordering pasta in a restaurant is akin to offering to help them with the washing-up when you've finished. Certainly, at the last three restaurants we have visited, the pasta dish was unsuccessful. Good for Town Dock, then, that its penne with vodka was a hit, and with someone who cooks it regularly at home, moreover.

Handled With Grace

The fish of the day, blackened swordfish with horseradish sour cream sauce, was way too salty. Now, practically every chef has a bad salt day once in a while - a slip of the hand or absent-mindedly salting twice perhaps - and it's a good test of a restaurant to see whether they deal with your complaint with grace.

In this case it was whipped away with mortified apologies and soon replaced with some nice yellowfin tuna. I have to say that I thought the horseradish sauce was de trop, as the flavor overwhelmed the tuna fish, which really needed nothing more than the flavorings of its marinade.

The chef is happy to make variations on the menu and all the dishes come with vegetables and a choice of roast potatoes, french fries, or a mixture of wild and white rice. An excellent whole wheat bread, made by the local Montauk Bake Shoppe, passed the bread test with flying colors.

Divine Desserts

And then, just to add a final surprise, the chef turns out to be a dessert whiz. There was a perfect blueberry tart on a graham cracker crust, an interesting and very rich chocolate pie, and a divine, simply divine, rhubarb pie, fresh out of the oven. Extra servings of whipped cream were supplied for the gluttonous ones at the table.

When there are five people eating out, there's usually one dud dish, but not this time. A little discussion led to general agreement that a smoked salmon quesadilla, a salad, and a helping of rhubarb pie would constitute a pretty perfect meal - and it would set you back about $20, without drinks.

The service was nothing short of delightful - I can think of some snootier places that might like to send their waitstaff to the Town Dock for a little course on how it's done.

Thinking about that rhubarb pie, I feel inspired to offer a challenge: If there's a better one on the East End, I'll eat the whole thing.

The recently released transportation update to the Town Comprehensive Plan confirms what everyone in town suspected: The volume of summer traffic on the Montauk Highway has tripled in the past 15 years. On some back roads, the study found, there are four times as many cars and trucks trying to circumnavigate the congestion as there were 30 years ago.

The town must look to other means of weekend travel, especially buses and trains, if it is to manage the "overwhelming demands" on its roadways, the report concludes. Indeed, there seems to be little alternative. It is too late now, after decades of opposition and the loss of hundreds of acres to development, to build a new highway as a bypass of the village centers.

Some of the study's specific recommendations, still in draft form, involve long-term objectives that will require separate studies of their own. At least one of them, however, perhaps the most significant - municipal bus service - could be implemented on a small experimental scale almost immediately.

Indeed, the town had the wheels in motion for a pilot-project bus to be rolling by the July Fourth weekend, shuttling riders from the Town Hall parking lot (virtually empty on weekends) to Amagansett's protected ocean beaches as well as to shop in East Hampton Village. (East Hampton High School's lot, largely empty all summer, would make another good pick-up point, especially for Northwest and Sag Harbor residents, if this idea ever comes to fruition.)

Protests from the Amagansett Citizens Advisory Committee, which objected to buses lumbering along Indian Wells Highway and Atlantic Avenue as well as to increased crowds at the beaches, helped shoot down the proposal. And the East Hampton Village Board's reluctance to have village beaches included in the plan did not help.

In the end, the Town Board scuttled the shuttle. That is a shame. If we cannot agree on a trial run for even a single small bus, holding no more than 25 people and making a loop once every 50 minutes, how will we ever know whether there is enough demand to make alternative transportation work?

This project should get a second look before it is abandoned entirely. It was intelligently focused, and too well-thought-out to be discarded so easily. On rainy days, for example, the bus would have skipped the beaches and run only between the parking lot and East Hampton Village, where riders could shop as long as they wanted without worrying about parking spaces or two-hour time limits.

Based on a scale from A to F, the transportation study predicts that the Wainscott portion of Montauk Highway will warrant an F by 2002 if automobile traffic increases just 5 percent a year between now and then. It will take Amagansett a little longer, until 2004. For F, read G - gridlock.

East Hampton sometimes has been a model for other towns on environmental legislation. There is no reason why it cannot take the lead once again in finding a solution to the traffic dilemma.

Everybody hates congestion - but everybody seems to hate change just as much. Which do we hate less? The clock is ticking.