A pedestrian-friendly village with lushly landscaped roadsides, small-scale businesses, quiet back streets, and a quaint, historic charm. Sounds a bit like Amagansett, doesn't it?

According to the long-awaited Amagansett Corridor Study, which was unveiled last week before the East Hampton Town Planning Board, those qualities are at serious risk without significant changes in zoning and strict new rules to guide commercial development.

The nearly 300-page report warns that market forces could readily support more than twice the commercial space Amagansett now contains, and developers are already knocking at the door.

In A Nutshell

To address that potential, the corridor study offers a detailed blueprint for accommodating the hamlet's inevitable commercial growth while protecting its small-town character.

That involves some potentially controversial recommendations, from new commercial zoning near Brent's General Store to an expanded Amagansett train station.

Under the plan, the Bistrian family would not be allowed to rezone their farmland north of Main Street for commercial use; the Amagansett Farmers Market would not be allowed to construct a larger new building, Lorne Michaels would not be allowed to build a country inn near Miss Amelia's Cottage, and, most important, the hamlet would see a new "high-intensity" commercial center spring up east of the village.

IGA To Moran's Deli

One of the corridor study's most substantial recommendations is for the creation of a new zoning district - a "planned commercial district" - east of the village core, to accommodate large-scale retail development such as a large new supermarket or multiple-business complex.

The new zoning district would encompass the entire north side of Montauk Highway from Abram's Landing Road east to Bunker Hill Road, which includes the IGA-Post Office complex and nearly 26 acres of vacant land to the east now zoned for central business and residential use.

Retail buildings up to the current maximum of 15,000 square feet for stores and 25,000 square feet for supermarkets would be allowed within the new district. However, campus-style, rather than "big-box" site layouts, with large amounts of open space and substantial setbacks from the highway, would be required.

Pedestrian Downtown

"There is an inherent tension between the desire to maintain a downtown business core in Amagansett Center [the village core], and the desire on the part of developers to expand commercial activity in this area, whether to the east, west, or even to the north of the village core," the study notes.

As for Main Street, the study recommends retaining the existing zoning throughout the village core to retain its current feel and to discourage major expansion. An Amagansett historic district also is encouraged to protect Main Street and nearby historic structures.

"The pressure to develop large-scale or high-intensity commercial uses in the center would aggravate traffic and detract from the center's relaxed, small-town ambiance," the study states. "Thus, the emphasis must be on retaining the center's low-key, pedestrian, historic, and scenic qualities."

Nor does the study recommend large-scale development west of the core. Instead, the "western corridor," running from the former Stern's site to Windmill Lane, would remain a mix of residential and neighborhood-business zones, with stricter rules governing what types of businesses are allowed in neighborhood-business zones.

The more "highway-oriented" character of the eastern end of Amagansett makes it the most desirable spot for future large-scale growth, the study concludes.

The corridor study was commissioned by the Town Board well over a year ago in response to a slew of rezoning and development requests that had the potential to change the commercial landscape of the hamlet. Two firms were hired to conduct the study: Land Ethics Inc. of Maryland and Abeles, Phillips, Preiss, and Shapiro Inc. of Manhattan.

Hungry Market

Beginning with a series of public meetings and surveys to get a feel for community sentiment, the consultants then embarked on an exhaustive analysis of the hamlet's demographic patterns, traffic circulation, history, and current land uses. The team also conducted extensive market research to determine what development potential the hamlet could expect.

The market analysis noted that demand for goods and services, fueled mainly by second-home owners, is far higher than what the hamlet now provides. In fact, it suggests the market would support double the commercial space currently available.

The consultants do not, however, recommend accommodating that much development. Nor do they recommend simply "freezing out" new development in general.

Which Way To Go?

To meet the growing demand for retail space, the corridor will be pressured to evolve into either a "tourism center," catering to visiting shoppers with stores like those at Amagansett Square, or a more townwide-oriented "convenience" center, providing goods and services to residents of Springs and Amagansett as stores selling practical items get squeezed out of East Hampton Village.

"Forestalling either of the two scenarios . . . would involve the continued suppression of the natural demand for retail goods and services in Amagansett," the study states.

"Unless other outlets for this demand could be provided . . . the results will be rising rents and values throughout the corridor" as well as a steady stream of large development proposals, such as the A&P's, it says.

"Growing Hodgepodge"

To manage new development and place it in scale with its surroundings, the study concludes, the corridor's current zoning must be revisited, especially the neighborhood-business zones.

The neighborhood business zoning west of the village has so far resulted in mostly small, low-intensity businesses. But, as the A&P proposal showed, the actual zoning and uses allowed in neighborhood-business zones don't necessarily distinguish them from regular commercial zones.

"These zoning categories do nothing to protect against sprawl development and may, in fact, reinforce it," the study concludes. Leaving the corridor's zoning as it is would result in "a growing hodgepodge of" out-of-scale uses that would detract from the hamlet's character and cause traffic problems.

Reuse And Development

Aside from tightening the zoning and uses in the remaining neighborhood business zone, the study recommends rezoning the three large nursery properties for residential use to prevent their redevelopment into more intense commercial uses.

The consultants also suggest en couraging home businesses, offices, and bed-and-breakfasts in existing residential zones west of the village. All in all, the goal west of the corridor is "to promote small-scale reuse, redevelopment, and development, that contributes to - rather than detracts from - the corridor's landscape and mixed-use qualities."

Lisa Liquori, the town's planning director, was impressed with the consultants' work, she said this week.

"I'm very pleased," she said. "I think the consultants kind of captured the essence of the community. I think the report will need some fine tuning and some changes, but they really understood and elaborated on the problems with zoning we have. They pointed out what could happen - which would be our worst nightmare - and that is Montauk Highway turning into a commercial strip."

Of the planned new commercial district east of the village, she said, "I think it's necessary to plan for additional growth, and that will accommodate a lot of additional growth, not out of line with what is needed."

Bistrians Disappointed

Not everyone was happy with the idea, however, especially Barry Bistrian and Bonnie Krupinksi, his sister. One of the major proposals that sparked the corridor study was the Bistrian family's request to turn a portion of their 42-acre farm tract north of the village into new commercial property.

Their plan would have allowed more retail use around the municipal parking lot and commercial-industrial uses along the railroad tracks to the north.

"I was very disappointed," said Mr. Bistrian of the study. "We waited two years for this unveiling, and, really, they went 180 degrees on what they were supposed to do. . . . The town wanted to do away with strip zoning. As far as I'm concerned they've done just the opposite."

"To me, the development east of the IGA is strip zoning in its truest form," he continued. "You're enlarging the village outside the core."

Informational Session

The Town Board, which will eventually make the decision on whether to adopt, amend, or shelve the corridor study, discussed the report briefly at its work session on Tuesday. Rather than holding a public hearing right away, members suggested a public information session to explain the report first.

The Planning Board and Town Board are likely to share in the review of the study, although the Town Board is legally in charge of any changes to the Town Comprehensive Plan.

Copies of the corridor study are available for public review at the Planning Department offices at Pantigo Place and the East Hampton and Amagansett Libraries. Copies can be purchased at East Hampton Business Service on Railroad Avenue in East Hampton for $98.83.

The Viking squid boat is scheduled to set sail again this weekend for the short trip to Fort Pond Bay and other inshore spots. Last weekend's trips proved successful, the Viking headquarters reporting small but eager groups enjoying productive jigging.

The boat leaves the Viking Dock in Montauk at 7 p.m. tomorrow, Saturday, and Sunday, returning at around 1 the next morning. The cost is $25 per person. Rods and reels are free, but there is a small deposit on the tackle.

Reservations can be made by calling the Viking Dock.

Flounder Foray

The stubborn spring appears to be holding up the flounder fishing, although it is the usual time for floundering to peter out in Lake Montauk, and for the fluke (summer flounder) that have wintered offshore to make an appearance.

This seems to be what's happening. Montauk's Lazy Bones party boat made its first foray out of the lake on Tuesday and was rewarded with a few flounder, one three-pound fluke, and a few throw-back (under 28 inches long) striped bass at Rocky Point.

Capt. Fred E. Bird's Flying Cloud party boat will begin daily half-day trips for summer and winter flounder on Saturday, from Salivar's Dock in Montauk. The Cloud runs two trips per day, from 8 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 5 p.m.

Fluke Fever

The Montauk charter boat Karen Sue reportedly traveled to the west side of Shelter Island several days in a row this week to take part in productive fluke fishing there. Each trip was said to yield 20 three to four-pounders.

One 13-pound fluke was reported caught in the same area over the weekend. It's an area with a history of early spring fluke habitation.

So are Shinnecock and other South Shore inlets that feed the bays behind the barrier beaches. Altenkirch's Precision Outfitters in Hampton Bays reports fluke fever in the Shinnecock Canal - "tremendous" fluking, with anglers with a little talent and a bucktail catching the daily limit of eight fluke in an hour.

The fish are in the three to four-pound range.

Stripers Keepers

The canal is also said to be chock-a-block with school-size striped bass with some big ones - 30-inch keepers - mixed in. Both fluke and bass were making a stronger showing than they did last year.

Bass are also striking trolled rigs around Montauk Point. Dick Bernhard reported that his Applejack III inaugurated the '97 fishing season on Saturday morning with two stripers on jigs in the Pollock Rip. On Sunday the Applejack produced eight bass in the four to eight-pound range.

Michael Potts of the Blue Fin IV charter boat reported that a fellow charter captain, Robbie Aaronson of the Oh Brother, found bass on Sunday around the Light, including some of keeper size.

Small bass are being taken off the Three Mile Harbor breakwater and from Sammy's Beach and around the Accabonac Harbor inlet.

Big Old Bass

If the winter flounder fishing in Lake Montauk and Shinnecock has slowed, it is picking up, as it usually does, off Block Island, where three to four-pounders are reportedly being caught. Captain Potts said a Sunday trip to Block Island resulted in his party catching 21 cod and a three-pound flounder.

A rumor that made its way around the Montauk docks this week had a mackerel-fishing dragger catching two giant tuna in its net southeast of Montauk recently. It could not be confirmed.

John Erb, co-owner of the Harvest Restaurant in Montauk, holds out hope of a challenging light-tackle, freshwater catch in Fort Pond. The pond has not been stocked with hybrid bass in several years and they cannot reproduce themselves. There are some oldtimers left, however. One, seen by Mr. Erb jumping out of the water over the weekend, measured at least two feet long, according to the restaurateur.

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

Whether you're talking about residential or commercial real estate, a limited supply and a demand for prime location are making East Hampton Village properties, well, in demand.

The dearth of undeveloped residential land puts a premium on the few vacant lots that do exist and creates a burgeoning market for potential "teardown" properties. As for commercial activity, the desire to have a presence in the small but ever more glitzy business district along Main Street and Newtown Lane continues to bring in high-visibility tenants and even higher rents.

What's that popular saying in the real estate industry? Location, location, location . . .

Stores All Taken

"The village is one of the hottest areas in the Hamptons," Kim Hovey, the owner of the Mrs. Condie Lamb Agency in East Hampton, said this week. "People are willing to pay top dollar for it." That goes for both residential and commercial properties.

"Everything's supply and demand," said Judi Desiderio, the managing partner of Cook Pony Farm, which has several offices on the East End.

Virtually all commercial space in the village is rented for the fast-approaching summer season except for the small shops in the former Veterans of Foreign Wars building, which now houses the eye-catching London Jewelers. Earlier this spring, however, there were at least four vacant stores available, which, brokers said, may have kept rents from soaring over the moon.

What Determines Price

The number of vacancies is just one of several factors affecting prices. Among others: the size of the space (under 1,000 square feet costs proportionately more than larger space); proximity to the Main Street-Newtown Lane intersection (rent increases the closer you get; Dr. Alan York's building at No. 1 Main, right on the corner, is said to bring the highest rent in the village), conditions imposed in the lease, and the actual physical condition of the space.

Stores that were leased to new tenants this spring, said Ms. Desiderio, did not rent for as much as the landlords had expected. That's not to say they got less than in the past, but simply that tenants were not willing to pay as much as the owners had thought they would.

Rents can only go up so much, Ms. Desiderio suggested.

Per Square Foot

An optimistic David Fink, the owner of three Main Street commercial properties and a real estate attorney in Manhattan who also lives in Wainscott, said his rentals were what he thought they would be.

However, Ben Krupinski, who owns the former Brooks building on Pantigo Road, told The Star he had rented that retail space (to Plaza Sports) for less than market value. The building is just past the main shopping area.

Rents in the business district range from about $45 a square foot to $70 per square foot. Few disagree that these prices have made it virtually impossible for individually owned and operated stores to do business in East Hampton Village.

Metamorphosis

Except for a few old standbys like White's, Dreesen's, Mark Fore and Strike, and the two hardware stores, the metamorphosis of Main Street and Newtown Lane in the past two decades is almost complete.

Gone are the locally owned shops. In their place have come high-end stores often associated with metropolitan or national chains.

In East Hampton Village, buyers are buying for the land, not for the buildings on it.

Marley's is gone, along with the News Company, the Whitman Gallery, even the East Hampton Shoe Store (now on Park Place), to be replaced by Kenar, Ralph Lauren Polo, McCarver and Moser, and the soon-to-open Cynthia Rowley.

Residential Property

As for East Hampton houses and residential properties, they are in demand not just because of the popularity of the Hamptons but because of their proximity to village attractions - tony shops, the movie theater, the beach, a train station, and the Hampton Jitney stop.

"The village . . . is a location," said Dick Baker, the office manager of Amaden-Gay Realty in East Hampton. Clients tell him, "I want to walk to get the paper, I want to walk to the movies. . . . "

In residential real estate, little empty land on which to build means people are either renovating and adding onto what they buy or simply tearing down the old to build anew.

The village offers "vastly different" properties, said Mr. Baker, ranging from small lots and houses on side streets for about $200,000 to large estate-section abodes south of the highway going for as much as $10 million.

North Of Highway

Even properties north of the highway "are very much in demand," said Mr. Baker, noting that houses in the village make great investments for people who'd like to rent for a month or a season and live here themselves the rest of the time.

On the lower end, Mr. Baker recently sold a house on Maidstone Avenue for $250,000. The buyer is putting another $175,000 into renovations and additions, said the real estate broker.

In other words, if you can't find the house you want, or even an affordable vacant parcel to build on, you work with what's available.

"There is precious little" vacant land left in the village, said Mr. Baker. In East Hampton, the estate section is considered relatively small compared to Southampton or Bridgehampton.

People are buying developed estate section lots and either doing major renovations or, in some cases, tearing down existing houses and starting from scratch.

The bottom line: Buyers are buying for the land, not for the buildings on it.

Ms. Hovey cited a Cottage Avenue house bought not long ago for $1.6 million. Four or five months later, without a single alteration, it was sold for $2.1 million. The newest owners, she said, didn't buy because it was their dream house, but because of the location.

Christie Estate

Vacant parcels off Montauk Highway in the village, between Georgica and Jericho Roads, are being sold by John Shanholt, an East Hampton broker. According to recorded deeds, they are selling at under $200,000, relatively low prices, probably because of their proximity to the noisy highway.

Ms. Hovey's real estate company, itself located in a village office, has the exclusive on lots in the former Christie estate, a 10-lot subdivision between David's and Pondview Lanes that contains some of the village's last vacant land.

The lots range from 1.4 to 2.5 acres, with asking prices from $950,000 to $1.4 million. One has been sold and another is in contract, Ms. Hovey said.

The broker said the subdivision's ideal location (it is within walking distance of the Maidstone Club, she noted) made those prices realistic, and the development's preserved hedgerow and easements made it that much more desirable.

What a great town East Hampton is for gardeners.

How many places in America are home to a facility like the LongHouse Foundation, at once private and public, intimate of scale and expansive in area, and important enough to make a nationally recognized expert hop off a plane from Holland at midnight on a Friday and come out here to give a slide talk and memorable garden tour at 3 p.m. the next day?

Brent Heath of the Daffodil Mart in Virginia, who is to bulbs what Bill Gates is to computers, has been advising Jack Lenor Larsen, LongHouse's chatelain, about his daffodil plantings for a long time. Mr. Larsen claims to have over 250,000 in flower this year (not all at once, of course), which is stretching it, but maybe not so very much.

The Biggest Hoax

With about 50 people assembled Saturday in what Mr. Larsen calls his "media room," Mr. Heath, a genial man of about 45 who was wearing a miniature pewter daffodil in his lapel, wasted no time getting down to business. Throwing a slide of a golden-yellow flower on the screen, he asked whether anyone knew its name.

"I'll give you a clue," he said. "The initials are K.A."

"King Alfred!" we all exclaimed.

"King Alfred," he agreed. "The biggest hoax going."

It seems the original King Alfred, apparently a wussy bulb of small stamina, hasn't been produced in commercial numbers for years. In fact, what we buy at the nurseries every fall under that name is Unsurpassable, or Arctic Gold, or Dutch Master.

In Mr. Heath's opinion the very best "King Alfred" today, if you can find it, is Marieke - "large, showy, green-eyed, up-facing," he enthused, making the flower sound a bit like a streetwalker.

Gladiators' Fare

The room was pitch-dark as Mr. Heath ran through 165-odd slides, but you could hear the sound of pencils scribbling. I learned a lot. Did you know daffodils can withstand temperatures down to the low teens? Come February I shall be looking for blooms of Rijnveld's Early Sensation, which we saw on the screen standing tall and proud under a cap of sparkling snow.

Daffodils are pest-free, Mr. Heath reminded us, because the bulbs taste terrible. I knew that, but I didn't know the bulbs were narcotic as well, nor that Roman gladiators used to eat them when death was close.

I also found out that except for aesthetic purposes it's not necessary to deadhead daffs (whereas with tulips it's imperative); that Sprite, of all things, may help prolong the life of cut flowers, and that sprinkling Epsom salts around in the fall brings out color.

Taking Notes

Also that golf tees stuck in the ground are handy for remembering where the daffodils are, once the foliage is cut (not till it turns yellow).

Jack Lenor Larsen is a tall, imposing man. For this event, he was wearing knee-high black gardener's boots, loose-fitting canvas jodhpurs in a well-washed greeny-fawn, a loose gray sweater with a bright coral serape thrown over it, and a cinnamon beret. He looked like one of his own beautifully designed textiles.

He wandered ahead of us as we made our way through LongHouse's 16 acres, stopping every now and then to yank up a weed. By the time we got back to where we'd begun, he had quite an armful.

Mr. Heath named everything as we went along. I wrote down two glorious pinks to buy that have been in cultivation almost 100 years, Louise de Coligny and Mrs. R.O. Backhouse. Along with most everyone else, I also put down Acropolis, a double white with red touches that looks for all the world like a tree peony.

Late Bloomers

One woman kept near Mr. Larsen's elbow, pestering him with a barrage of questions. He answered her patiently, looking only a little bit imposed-upon. He has 20 varieties of birch trees, he said, and 60 more on order. Actaea, a dependable "pheasant's-eye" perennial, is one of his great favorites. Yes, LongHouse is open during the week, on Wednesdays from 2 to 5 p.m.

An astonishing number of daffodils are still in bloom there, not just the Poetaz varieties you'd expect at this time of year. The most ubiquitous is Thalia, a delicate white-white with two or three flowers on a stem, often called the orchid daffodil. There were veritable drifts of Thalia, snaking through the woods, peeping out from beds of ivy or lady's fern, or partnering floozier varieties like Golden Lion.

A few skeptics said not to bother going to Saturday's tour because there wouldn't be anything to see. It's tulip time, they said; the daffodils are long gone. They were wrong.

It's official. The Sag Harbor Golf Club will continue to operate the state-owned nine-hole course at Barcelona Neck. The club's board of directors, who have been negotiating with representatives of the State Department of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation, sent a signed contract to run the course to Albany on Monday.

Under the deal, family memberships will be phased out, but individuals will still be able to purchase a card for unlimited play for $240. Daily greens fees will remain $10 on weekdays and $15 on weekends. While the club used to allow unlimited play, a greens fee will now be good for 18 holes.

State Relented

The club will not be required to pay rent, but it must turn over its profits at the end of the year to the state.

Although the current contract expires at the end of the year, Marshall Garypie, the club's president, said the state "has been receptive to us working on a five or 10-year deal." He said he expected negotiations to begin shortly after Labor Day.

The golf course has been run for years by the nonprofit club. However, earlier this year, the State Department of Environmental Conservation, which manages the Barcelona Neck preserve, announced that it was going to upgrade the club, seek new management, and turn the club over to the Department of Parks.

Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. and other East End public officials came to the club's defense and helped broker the new deal. The state has finally realized the wisdom of leaving the club's management in local hands, according to Mr. Garypie

"They got a lot of grief up in Albany," he said. "They don't want to go through that again, just as we don't."

Wild chicory, as blue as a white bone, Pleiades, crickets like the very surf, low lamenting geese, crab grass, bottled gentians as blue as distance, and franklinia blossoms already grounded, singe on the chestnut trees, tomatoes, hot peppers, Brazilian eggplant. The birds took the blueberries. Thin atolls of cool air from the Great Lakes. Maybe farther. Chilly morning dog walks on dewy grass.

Summer was never really meant to be held or confined. It slips away. The most desired season and the swiftest. Old, exhausting laments of childhood rise up again of unfulfilled tasks, dreams, happenings. Walks not taken. Fish not caught. Mother not putting up wild green grape preserve.

Which August? Was it the one where I was supposed to paint the boathouse? The one when I swam the lake shore-to-shore and back? Got very tan? Which August was it the muskrat ate the zinnias and the cucumbers? I was to have read all of Balzac but bogged down with “La Peau de Chagrin.” The one the dear dog went rabid and had to be put down. Father tried to teach me chess. And failed. I fell in and out of love twice one August. I made a small pond where the soil seeped and a frog came out of nowhere. Badminton, waterskiing, croquet, and horseshoes.

Packed summers but over so quickly. I hated to go to sleep, stretched out on the dock and watched the stars fall. I wanted to study every aspect of August, to debone it as if it were a fish. Or press it like a flower to make it indelible. Now, all the Augusts seem to merge into one.

I last saw the lake house one August. It had grown down and was so much smaller. The old drive through the mountains seemed not as lengthy. The great swamp seemed smaller too, but was still studded with lobelia cardinalis. I couldn’t find Cox’s Chicken Farm. Our hillside had grown black with shade. I go back to those summers. Try to pry them apart.

Which summer was it I got a lady’s slipper to bloom? Got lost in the boat in a storm? Got lost in the woods? Lifted weights? Began to smoke? Made a moss garden? Hared around in cars drinking rum and Coca-Cola, singing “Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered”? My brother’s new girlfriend. The one he married. Mother is reading “Kristin Lavransdatter.” A hummingbird, its beak caught in the screen. The drowning. The summer I learned about willow water. Began painting. Stopped. Began again.

Here now, this summer is coming unstuck. Pages of it. Fell in love twice. Thought to make a small moss garden. Threads or bones of all my Augusts. Is it that I exact on summer such huge expectations that any fulfillment becomes impossible? A moss garden is as frail as love. Finch are making nests.

August is the most audible of months. Would that I had its words.

The East Hampton Town Republican Committee will kick off its 1997 political campaign with a new chairman. Perry B. (Chip) Duryea 3d, who has led the organization for the last nine years, resigned Monday night at the party's annual convention, saying business and family obligations had to take precedence.

"When I took over the chairmanship, my life was a lot simpler," Mr. Duryea said yesterday.

Mr. Duryea was replaced at Monday's meeting by Frank Duffy, who has been vice chairman and is the owner of the Grill restaurant in East Hampton Village. Mr. Duffy, a former advertising executive, said the change had been discussed for some time.

Business Comes First

Mr. Duryea and his father are expanding the family's wholesale seafood distributorship and restaurant on Tuthill Road in Montauk. The family angered its neighbors when it closed access to their houses over a part of Tuthill Road in connection with its planned business expansion. In addition, word that the Duryeas had had discussions with the Cross Sound Ferry company about a South Fork ferry terminal on their property, which is on Fort Pond Bay, aroused some alarm.

Mr. Duryea will retain his committee seat for Montauk's Sixth Election District and said he expected to be involved somewhat in the coming campaign.

While the press and even the nominees for town office were barred from the convention, all reports said it went as planned.

As Expected

Town Councilman Thomas Knobel was nominated as expected to run for Supervisor, and Patricia Mansir, Planning Board chairwoman, was picked to run for his Town Board seat. Councilwoman Nancy McCaffrey also will seek a third term.

Ed Deyermond, the Southampton Town Assessor and a Sag Harbor Village Trustee, had been interviewed by the committee as a potential nominee. He said yesterday he withdrew from the process "for personal reasons" and wished the nominees "all the best on Election Day."

The committee also endorsed Kevin McCrudden, a public relations consultant from Southampton, to run against County Legislator George Guldi, a Democrat going after his third term. The Southampton Town Committee is to hold its convention at 7 tonight at the Southampton Inn. Mr. McCrudden is expected to get the nod there as well.

Rousing Speech

In East Hampton, committee members said Mr. Knobel arrived at the convention after its formalities were done and gave an impassioned speech that twice brought the committee to its feet.

Mr. Knobel will face the Democratic incumbent, Supervisor Cathy Lester, in what promises to be a fiery contest. Both are former Town Trustees, and Ms. Lester has been vehement in opposition to Mr. Knobel's work to increase the Trustees' jurisdiction.

He told The Star Tuesday that he intended "to run a campaign that is inclusive of everyone. I'm not going to reach for one splinter group or another because I believe playing off second-home owners, or senior citizens, or some other group is wrong."

"And, I want to put an end once and for all to this nonsense that just one party is good for the environment," he said.

The Town Democratic Committee has postponed its convention, apparently to early June. Job Potter and Roberta Gosman Donovan, both Planning Board members, are said to be the favorites to run against Mrs. Mansir and Mrs. McCaffrey.

Mrs. Mansir said she hoped her campaign would address "everything from day care for children to senior citizen care, and the person in the middle who is the care giver." She also said she was pondering ways to address "the survival of the middle class and reducing bureaucracy" in town government. Both are familiar goals for the local G.O.P.

Robert Savage, the town attorney, was nominated by the Republicans to run for Town Justice and James Bennett for Highway Superintendent, seats they had pursued unsuccessfully in 1995. Robert Kouffman, an attorney and former East Hampton Village prosecutor, was also interviewed for the Justice nomination.

Judicial Race

Mr. Savage, who lost to Justice Roger Walker last time, is now seeking to unseat Administrative Justice Catherine Cahill, a former co-worker in the District Attorney's East End Bureau. He was appointed town attorney by the Republican majority on the Town Board shortly after his defeat and committee members said he had been in mind for a second shot at the bench since then.

Judicial races are normally more restrained and civilized than other political contests, the candidates held in check by rules of ethics that do not pertain to others. But the race between Mr. Savage and Justice Cahill already is giving off some sparks.

Last winter, she wrote a memo to the Town Ethics Board, criticizing his representing private clients in Justice Court while serving as town attorney. The Ethics Board declined to look into the matter, after Mr. Savage notified Justice Court that he had turned all his East Hampton cases over to another firm.

Mr. Bennett is making his second charge at Christopher Russo, the Democratic Highway Superintendent who has been elected four times since 1989. Town Assessor Fred Overton will seek a third term. His opponent is yet to be named.

Edwina Cooke, an accountant from Wainscott, will go up against Town Clerk Fred Yardley, a Democrat with two four-year terms under his belt. Mrs. Cooke is a nonvoting member of the G.O.P committee, and her husband holds a committee seat.

The Republicans, who have held a majority on the Trustees for many years, nominated seven of their eight incumbents.

Leon Overton, the Assessor's brother, declined to run after being elected an assistant chief of the Springs Fire Department.

Trustee Slate

The incumbents who will run are Diane Mamay, the Clerk, James McCaffrey, the Councilwoman's husband, William Ritter, Gordon Vorpahl, Joshua (Jack) Edwards, John Carley, and Joseph Bloecker, the only Trustee from Montauk.

He will be joined on the ballot by Sylvia Murphy, a political neophyte and resident of the same hamlet. Born and raised in Peru, she works in the Town Housing Office. Bill Mott, who works for Pulver Gas, will take the ninth slot.

With its ticket established, the Republicans have begun to set their campaign in motion. George Cafiso, an Assessor, was named campaign chairman, Councilman Len Bernard was picked to lead the group that will write this year's platform, and Sam Story, the owner of Three Mile Harbor Boat Yard, will head the fund-raising effort.

Role Vague

Elected officials, such as Mr. Cafiso and Mr. Bernard, were forced to resign from the committee two years ago, when a law declared it a conflict of interest for Republicans and Democrats alike. They are not, however, precluded from playing a role in campaigns.

Mr. Duryea was vague about what role he would play. "This is the proper time for me to take a secondary position. It's become such a big job. There are 14,000 voters in town, campaigning has become very sophisticated, expensive, and time-consuming and should have someone in charge who can devote his full energies," he said.

Voice Of People

East Hampton

May 12, 1997

Dear Helen,

I do wonder why the East Hampton Village Board keeps calling public hearings on the Lumber Lane parking lot matter. They seem to have made their minds up to "do what they're gonna do" regardless of public opinion. In fact, they have piled insult upon injury by scheduling their next meeting for a Thursday, when almost everyone who spoke on April 18 made a plea for a time that might better serve working people - especially those who work in the city. I find their gall unmitigated, and I say this without a personal ax to grind since I do not even use the Lumber Lane lot, parking instead alongside the tracks where my car is (as of now) permitted its two or three nights.

It's interesting, by the way, to note that many in that large crowd felt condescended to by the Village Board. I had been angered by the same perception the first time I came before it. It seems that we are all utterly at the mercy of the village fathers - excepting perhaps those who work in the stores downtown and are too lazy to walk from the Lumber Lane lot, leaving the Reutershan lot jammed full even on the many days when the shops appear totally deserted.

This obscene $5 a night or $250 sticker business reeks of exploitation and spite. Promises of a future Wainscott "transportation hub" will do nothing to fix the matter. It is a promise as empty as all the others made by politicians to hide their paralysis in the face of real problems. Nancy McCaffrey and Tom Knobel, who showed up last time, added nothing but their own vacuous babble, but then, what could they do?

The village seems determined to dump the matter on the town, even though the East Hampton railroad station is right smack in the village. If exorbitant rents have turned a once pleasantly varied village into a mecca for strolling tourists and consumers of luxury items, perhaps the landlords should be taxed to provide the revenue the village fathers seem intent on squeezing out of the townsfolk.

Because it's really about money, isn't it? The village spent some (probably too many) dollars to upgrade the parking, and it rankles them. They'll get it back, by hook or by crook! God forbid that they should ever listen to the voice of the people.

Best wishes,

SILVIA TENNENBAUM

Letter Home From Boynton Beach

May 8, 1997

Dear Editor,

Each September, the Suffolk County Fair was held at the Riverhead Fair Grounds. Any student who wanted to attend did not have to play hooky from school, for a trip to the fair was a legal absence. Many older people attended, as well as parents and their school-aged children.

It was quite common for those without cars to travel on the "Scoot." It was an excellent way to go to the fair and not that expensive. The Scoot, a two-car train, ran from Amagansett to Greenport on a daily run. It left Amagansett at 10 a.m. and arrived in Greenport at 2 p.m. It stopped at each station, and after leaving Eastport on its western run, it took the rail spur to Manorville.

Before becoming known as Manorville, the small hamlet was known as St. George's Manor, and before that, Punk's Hole. In the 1840s, when the Long Island Rail Road was extended through Suffolk County to Greenport, Punk's Hole was selected as wood stop. A short time later, the stop was renamed St. George's Manor. One day, for some unknown reason, the station agent grabbed a paintbrush and painted out St. George's, and left the word "Manor." The name was accepted by the local people, and some years later, the Long Island Rail Road lengthened it to Manorville.

Because of the Scoot's semicircular route to Greenport, it was called the Cape Horn Express. The two cars that it hauled were a passenger car and a combination passenger-baggage car. Paddy Murray, of Amagansett, was the engineer, and made that run for many years, until its demise in 1931.

A story, which originated in Springs, was about a man who desperately wanted to take his wife and son to the fair, but had no money to attend. After thinking of numerous ways to obtain money and then discarding them, he settled upon selling the kitchen stove. He figured he would worry about getting another after they returned from the fair. He must have had a stroke of good fortune, for they attended many fairs afterward.

Another outing, which many East End people enjoyed, was a trip, by ferry, from Sag Harbor to New London. The ferry Shinnecock left daily from Long Wharf and made stops at Shelter Island, Greenport, and Orient before crossing the Sound to New London. By about 1925, that ferry service began to phase out, and at the end of the 1927 summer season, the Shinnecock made her final trip.

A train derailment, which took six lives, occurred on Friday, Aug. 13, 1926, when the Shelter Island Express, on its way to Greenport, jumped the tracks at Calverton. The six-car train, including a Pullman car, was carrying nearly 400 passengers when it crashed into a pickle-making plant at a high rate of speed, killing four of the 32 Pullman car passengers and the two engineers. Among the passengers killed was Hamilton Fish, a noted New York stockbroker. It was the worst train wreck to occur on the East End, and it became known as the Great Pickle Works Wreck.

Before the wreckage had been cleared, and the cars removed, thousands of people visited the crash site. We went to the scene in our Model T touring car that Sunday. The road to Riverhead was much different from the one of today. There was no North Road from Southampton, past Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, to the Canoe Place Bridge. Instead, the route went by way of Southampton Main Street, up Hill Street, past the Indian Reservation, and through Shinnecock Hills to the Canoe Place Bridge. From there, the route continued over a rickety wooden railroad bridge, and on through the Hampton Bays business section to the Riverhead-Flanders Road. Upon arriving in Riverhead, one turned left on West Main Street and continued on it to River Road, and then followed the route and sightseers, until arrival at the accident scene.

It was a lengthy trip by the standards of that time. Cars rarely traveled in excess of 35 miles per hour, and there were some that had difficulty maintaining that rate of speed. Traveling through business districts of the villages was limited to 20 miles an hour, and usually there were motorcycle policemen in the vicinity to enforce the limit.

One of the biggest concerns on a driver's mind was the dreaded flat tire, which occurred all too frequently. If a driver had no spare tire, he had to jack up the car, remove the wheel, and then begin the most time-consuming part. The tire had to be removed from the rim and the tube removed from the tire. He inflated it with a hand pump, which most drivers carried, and then looked for cuts or punctures. He was fortunate, indeed, if he had only one puncture.

After inflating the tube, most drivers found the puncture by spitting on the suspected spot. If a bubble appeared, he knew he had located the leak. He continued a careful inspection of the tube until he was certain he had no more. Then he marked each leak with chalk and opened his patching kit. After patching the puncture(s), he placed the tube in the tire. He had to be cautious not to pinch the tube while putting the tire back on the rim. Each car, when purchased, was provided with a set of tire irons. Without them, a tire could not be removed from a rim. Most conscientious drivers strapped several tires to the car when going out of town. By doing do, they would not have to go through the tire patching ordeal.

The late Mabel Smith of Springs told of the time a chap, also of Springs, and his family took a Sunday ride to Eastport to visit his sister. It seems that poor soul experienced 167 flat tires on that fateful day to and from Eastport. Somewhere, near Springs, at a very late hour, they had to abandon the car, and continue the trip on foot. As they passed through Kingstown, the poor chap's wife awoke most of its residents, as she screamed and yelled at him. Ever after, she was known by the people of Kingstown as the Nightingale.

In October 1932, another train wreck occurred on the big curve at Rod's Valley in Montauk. The engineer, who had relieved the regular one, Jim Eichhorn of Amagansett, was killed instantly. The fireman, seriously burned by steam, died later in Southampton Hospital. It was the worst wreck to occur on the Montauk branch of the Long Island Rail Road. A wrecking crew worked for two nights and three days before the wreck was cleared and train service resumed.

Along about the fifth grade, I developed a close relationship with Johnny Byrnes, who came from Westbury with his family in 1927. When we were not in school, on weekends, vacations, or playing ball games, we spent many happy hours roaming the fields, hedgerows, and woodlands north and west of Cedar Street.

While walking those fields and woods, we learned about nature and wildlife. To walk through the woods listening to the wind sighing as it passed through the boughs of the many trees was like hearing a beautiful symphony. We learned to identify the cries of blue jays, wood thrushes, crows, hawks, the singing of sparrows, orioles, redwing blackbirds, and other songbirds of the woods, fields, and hedgerows. We identified the odors left by foxes and skunks.

In the spring, the drumming of the ruffed grouse could be heard in the surrounding woodlands. To see a male grouse strutting with an extended ruff, his tail erect and fanned out, and his wings trailing along the ground is a rare sight. When going through his mating ritual, he performs very much like a miniature tom turkey.

In our wanderings through the fields and woodlands, we observed many species of birds, especially bluebirds, as they flew among the hedgerows. We learned the habits of the small wild animals that lived in hedgerows, at the edge of fields, and in the deeper woods. It is amazing the knowledge one can gather by traipsing through the woodlands and fields of an unspoiled countryside with a young and open mind.

Little did we know, as we learned about nature among the hedgerows of Cedar Street, that Johnny would be killed in a similar area, which the G.I.s of World War II knew as the boscage countryside of Normandy. Johnny had a rather short military career, being drafted from a war-plant job in December 1943. He arrived in France on Aug. 1, 1944, and was killed in action on Aug. 8, 1944. God love you, Johnny.

One year, around 1929, or 1930, Danny Bahns, whom we called Sonny, his brother, Frankie, and I walked Long Lane and on down Two Holes of Water Road, to a two-rut woods road. We were after a white pine Christmas tree for the Bahns family. At the time, that area of Northwest had an abundance of white pine trees. In only a short time after our arrival, the Bahns boys selected a tree to their liking and cut it down. We left the Chatfield's Hole area and returned home, taking turns carrying the tree to Race Lane. One thing about those days was that we got a lot of exercise by walking to and from our destinations.

As we grew a little older, we earned a few dollars picking strawberries for Ferris Talmage and Sam Field. Each June, during Regents week, we set out, in the early morning, for the Roberts Lane strawberry patches. To prevent our low limbs from becoming wet with dew, we wore hip boots. We were paid three cents a quart. After picking 100 quarts, we called it a day. We were paid on the spot, with the hopes that tomorrow would be another nice day so we could earn another three dollars.

During the summer, a number of teenagers from below the bridge area spent many sunny afternoons diving or swimming off a large wooden float moored at the Three Mile Harbor dock. At that time, there was no bulkhead that paralleled the Three Mile Harbor-Hog Creek Road. A fellow learned to swim quickly there, whether he liked it or not, because someone was going to push him overboard. Then it was up to him to dog paddle or sink. Some of the kids became excellent swimmers.

Asa Peckham would go to the dock, dive overboard, and take a casual swim to the channel near Halsey's Marina and then return to the wooden float. Often, Johnny Byrnes would accompany Asa. There were times when both of them swam from the Maidstone Park side of the breakwater to Sammis Beach. Because of the strong tidal currents, only the better swimmers spent an afternoon swimming back and forth at the breakwater.

Others hitchhiked to Steve Palmer's Maidstone Boatyard to swim off the float, which was anchored offshore between the main channel and the boat yard. Still others went a little farther north and swam in Gardiner's Bay at Maidstone Park.

Maidstone Park attracted some of the older boys, because there were a number of pretty young girls from Springs and from Maidstone Park who swam there nearly every day. The girls from Maidstone Park were mostly from Queens and spent summers there in small cottages with their parents.

At Maidstone, at the time, there stood a wood-shingled bathing pavilion, complete with bathing lockers. It was located on the high ground between the picnic-table area and the boardwalk that led to the beach. From the roofed porch, which extended the width of the structure, one would enjoy a beautiful view of Gardiner's Bay, Shelter Island, and the Orient area of the North Fork. A short distance to the east of the pavilion stood a small wooden pump house, which had a pitcher pump for the convenience of the bathers.

Each year, at the beginning of the bathing season, a caretaker was hired to maintain the facilities and to oversee park activities. When the Republicans were in the majority on the Town Board, Gilbert Lester of Springs was hired, and, in 1934 and 1935, when the Democrats were in the majority, Selah Lester of Round Swamp was hired.

Many families, churches, and organizations held picnics there for many years without incident. Each summer, the youngsters looked forward, with glee, to spending a day of picnicking with their families and Sunday-school friends. If it were not for the wealthy summer residents, in their benevolence, who gave East Hampton Maidstone Park, Fresh Pond Park, Guild Hall, the East Hampton Free Library, and other properties, the local townsfolk's recreational activities would have been sorely limited. Due to their generosity and goodness, the residents of East Hampton have enjoyed many generations of enjoyment and relaxation.

In the years before World War II, carnivals were rather well attended. After they had been banned in East Hampton Village, the Sag Harbor Fire Department sponsored them. They were held each August near the site of the old Sag Harbor railroad station. There were the usual rides, chance games, and refreshments. As there was no television to keep them home, people went to a carnival mostly for something to do, and to see folks that they had not seen since last year's carnival.

For several years, each carnival had an act that went on shortly after 11 p.m. each night. Some acts had a trained dog leap from a high platform into a small tank of water, and another act substituted the dog for a man, who dived into a larger and deeper tank of water. Of all the acts, Cannonball Richards's was the most popular. A little after 11 o'clock, a cannon would be rolled in, and out from the throng came Cannonball, clad in an undershirt and a pair of trousers, carrying a sledge-hammer and a few large pie plates. After being introduced, he'd take a bow, and request some young man to take the sledge-hammer and hit him in the stomach with it. Before being struck, Richards braced himself and held a pie plate at the target area. Pow! Cannonball stood firm as the sledge struck the pie plate. He'd hold up the badly dented pie plate for all to see. After two or three young blades tried their luck, he got all braced for the main event.

He stood close to the muzzle of the cannon with a pie plate covering his stomach. When everything was in place, he ordered his assistant to fire. When that ball hit him, it drove him backward doing somersaults of some kind. After the smoke cleared, Cannonball stood and took a bow. He performed that act during the '20s as well as the '30s. How he withstood those severe blows to his stomach, night after night, God only knows. He must have overseen the loading of the cannon, for if he didn't he must have had complete confidence in his assistant.

(To be continued.)

Sincerely,

NORTON (BUCKET) DANIELS

Please address correspondence to [email protected]

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

Some East End residents and officials were alarmed last week by published reports of a plan hatched by the State Department of Environmental Conservation to transport red foxes trapped in Babylon to the "East End." The number of foxes hereabouts has soared in the past couple of years.

However, according to Harry Knox, a wildlife specialist with the D.E.C., the foxes will not be set free in either East Hampton or Southampton Towns. "It's more mid-Island," he said, declining to specify the location.

Mr. Knox said the Town of Babylon had deemed it necessary to trap the animals because they were preying on endangered piping plovers on town beaches.

Protecting Nests

The trapping alternative was considered more acceptable to Babylon than the culling (killing) alternative, Mr. Knox said, but either was preferable to allowing the foxes to feed on an endangered species, as far as the D.E.C. was concerned.

In East Hampton, the East Hampton Town Trustees, the Nature Conservancy, and the town's Natural Resources Department take precautions to limit the danger posed by foxes to piping plovers and least terns. Once the birds pair off and nest, special "exclosures" - wire cages - are placed around them to protect the nest but allow the birds to get out and search for food.

East Hampton's natural resources director, Larry Penny, said that the fox population was undergoing a growth explosion not seen in this area since the early 1980s. "We don't want them here. We've got too many," he said.

Cyclical Swings

Mr. Penny said foxes were prone to cyclical swings in population and that they have been on the high side for the last two years. He knows that by personal observation and by the number of calls he receives from residents about foxes.

One den recently discovered near Sammy's Beach had seven young. "Very high," said Mr. Penny. "And they were all in good shape." That is good news for the individual den, but not for the future of the fox population in general. Mr. Penny likened the robust local fox population to dynamite, and the large litters to a lit fuse.

The reproductive drive was strong when food was plentiful, Mr. Penny said, "but food will get short. They can live on vegetation, and some people feed them. But even that won't be enough. They will crash. They get to the point where there isn't enough food. They become stressed. This leaves them susceptible to disease."

Threat To Pets?

The population is usually trimmed by outbreaks of two diseases - sarcoptic mange and distemper.

Dr. Dale Tarr of the East Hampton Veterinary Group said residents should not be overly concerned about the diseases spreading to their pets. Yes, it was possible for the mange, a debilitating disease caused by a parasitic mite, to be passed between fox and domestic dogs, except for the fact that the two species avoid each other. "In my 30 years here, I can't remember a case," he said.

While the D.E.C.'s Mr. Knox warned people to "watch out for their cats," Dr. Tarr said that foxes would have to be desperate for food to attack a cat.

Foxes' Prey

The red fox usually feeds on mice, rabbits, pheasants, and other birds it can catch. The guinea hens that some people buy to thin the tick population on their property are known to fall prey to foxes.

Mr. Penny said that people should not fear rabies because of the high population of foxes. "Rabies panics people, but there is no rabies in Nassau or Suffolk County," he said.

Foxes usually are active only at night, Dr. Tarr observed. "If you see a fox in daytime, it's sick," he said.

With the opening last month of the promising new Bulls Head Bar and Grill right across the street from the already popular Bridgehampton Cafe, you might think the culinary talents behind both restaurants would lose sleep worrying about the competition. They didn't.

That's because the same people are behind both enterprises. So instead of worrying, John DeLucie, the executive chef of the Bridgehampton Cafe, and Jon LoPresti, the chef de cuisine, were celebrating. The two had helped make the first year at the Cafe a stellar one, with raves from The New York Times, Zagat's, and Newsday, among others, and at the Bulls Head Bar and Grill they hoped to repeat that success.

The two neighboring dining spots share chefs, owners, a general manager, and floor staff. "If you were going to build a new house, it would make sense to have one of the family build it for you," Mr. LoPresti said last week, explaining the rationale behind the arrangement.

Mr. LoPresti is at the helm in the Bulls Head kitchen and lords over the wood-burning grill there, which was Mr. DeLucie's idea. Mr. DeLucie maintains his primary culinary residence at the Bridgehampton Cafe. The menus at each spot are collaborative efforts. Both woo the palate in similar ways, but the Bulls Head offers a slightly less pricey menu; entrees range from $13 to $18, as opposed to the $16 to $28 range at the Bridgehampton Cafe.

The name Bulls Head comes from an old name for the area around the triangular commons at the junction of the Bridgehampton Turnpike and Bridgehampton Main Street.

The kind of teamwork called for in operating a kitchen, or in this case two, in tandem can be difficult. But, Mr. DeLucie said, "we got lucky with the personalities."

"Jon and I are very different, but very alike in that we had both worked in quality places," Mr. DeLucie explained.

Mr. LoPresti agreed, "He's the calm, reserved. . ."

". . . focused one," Mr. DeLucie finished.

They have an easy way with each other. They spell out each other's last names ("We're used to it," they say) and sometimes finish a sentence when the other trails off. And despite the pressures of the past year at the Bridgehampton Cafe, they managed to build on the strong friendship they already had.

"I'm pretty serious. John's pretty serious," Mr. LoPresti said, "yet I've never laughed more than in the past year."

"We had a good chemistry," Mr. DeLucie said. "He trained more in a heavy-duty French tradition. Me, I'm much more fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants. I would make a dish and he'd look at me like, 'Are you out of your mind?' "

But Mr. LoPresti, despite his formal training, learned a great deal from Mr. DeLucie about actually executing a culinary vision.

In New York's high-profile restaurants, where the two had worked before coming east to help open the Bridgehampton Cafe, the competition in the culinary world didn't allow for this kind of working relationship.

Both had worked in kitchens where "the chefs were in our faces," said Mr. DeLucie. They made a conscious decision that their kitchen would not be like that.

"It was a double-edged sword when I was asked to come over here," Mr. LoPresti said, sitting in the Bulls Head dining room. He will miss working side-by-side with Mr. DeLucie on a busy Saturday night. But Mr. DeLucie's guidance has also made the experience of opening and running the new kitchen a lot easier. "We were like old fish in a new pond," he said, with a nod of approval to the wait staff and manager.

"Opening a place is not fun," Mr. DeLucie said with a laugh, recalling last year's opening at Bridgehampton Cafe and all the unexpected little glitches that came with it. Thanks to that, Mr. LoPresti "was already toughened up."

At the Bulls Head, "we're not reinventing the wheel. It's variations on a theme," Mr. LoPresti said.

Both chefs come from Italian families and draw upon their backgrounds for inspiration in the restaurants. Mr. DeLucie hones in on the food he grew up on in the New York area - not only Italian but also Chinese and even kosher foods.

American cuisine, under the watchful eyes of Mr. DeLucie and Mr. LoPresti, is anything but predictable.

"It's not a melting pot anymore, it's a stew," Mr. LoPresti said of American cuisine today.

"With American food, you have to touch every continent," Mr. DeLucie agreed. The food at Bridgehampton Cafe and the Bulls Head Bar and Grill may not be all-American to some, but "it's my America," Mr. DeLucie said. "It's the food I grew up with. I cook like you're coming to my house."

The menu at Bridgehampton Cafe has changed since last year. "As a chef, I'm evolving," Mr. DeLucie said. "The food has just followed suit."

He is especially pleased that the reviews for the Cafe have been so favorable. "What we set out to do came right back at us," he said.

"Wow, they're getting it," Mr. LoPresti added with a smile.

Jon LoPresti's Marinated Wood-Grilled Chicken

With Citrus Slaw and Cranberry Bean Relish

Chicken Marinade

(one day before)

1 cup olive oil

2 cups lemon juice

1 bunch thyme

1/2 bunch Italian parsley

1/2 bunch rosemary

1/2 cup sliced garlic

1/4 cup diced onion

1 Tbsp. white peppercorns

Place three 31/2-pound Bell and Evans chickens (split, with the backs out) in marinade one day before cooking. Grill on wood barbecue or charcoal barbecue with wood added for flavor.

Citrus Slaw

2 Napa cabbages, shredded

2 carrots, julienned

4-5 oranges, sectioned

4-5 grapefruits, sectioned

1/2 cup rice wine vinegar

5 Tbsp. sesame oil (or to taste)

Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients.

Cranberry Bean Relish

1/2 lb. berlotti or red beans

2 cups dried cranberries

4 cucumbers, seeded and diced

2 red peppers, seeded and diced

2 red onions, seeded and diced

1 bunch chopped dill

2 cups creme fraiche

1/2 cup lime juice

1/2 cup cider vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

Diced pickles (optional)

Cook beans in large pot, seasoning them with salt in the last two minutes. Drain and cool in refrigerator. When cool, combine with the rest of the ingredients.

Serves four to six.