Julia Bovey, the director of the New York State Department of Public Service’s Long Island office, got some thanks on Tuesday night for responding to calls for an East Hampton hearing on PSEG-Long Island’s long-range plan — and then she got an earful.

During an almost four-hour session at the village’s Emergency Services Building, speakers provided Ms. Bovey with plenty of food for thought. Her office will be compiling comments and recommendations on PSEG’s Utility 2.0 plan and advising the Long Island Power Authority board about whether it should be approved.

Virtually to a speaker, the comments were critical, either of the utility’s future plans or of the actions it has already taken here.

PSEG, which at the start of this year took over operation of Long Island’s power grid from LIPA, has run roughshod over local codes protecting the environment and aesthetics, speakers said. Many objected that its plan lacks specifics about the $294 million it has proposed for projects on the South Fork to meet future energy demand and reduce peak demand. Transparent and open communication, with local involvement in decision-making, is needed, residents and officials agreed. Some called an element of the plan that would increase renewable energy sources but also build new power plants using fossil fuels, backward-thinking, rather than forward.

Tuesday’s meeting in East Hampton and another that day in Riverhead were the last of five public hearings on the plan. Written comments can be submitted by email until midnight Sunday to [email protected], or by phone to a Department of Public Service opinion line, 800-335-2120. A copy of Utility 2.0 is on the department’s website at dps.ny.gov, through the Search by Case Number section; its number is 14-01299.

Once the comment period has ended, the Department of Public Service will send recommendations to PSEG and to the LIPA board, which must approve a final draft. Completion is targeted for early December.

The plan has several elements, a PSEG representative said at the meeting. They include improving the resiliency of the present system, introducing energy-efficiency measures to reduce current demand while meeting projected future demand, and increasing the use of renewable energy by expanding solar, geothermal, and, potentially, wind energy programs. Company-sponsored initiatives to control peak energy use — for example, providing homeowners with programmable thermostats that can be controlled from afar by PSEG and suspending air conditioning for short periods during high-demand days — would be less expensive for PSEG than having to build new power plants, the representative said.

Those filling the room to capacity included a contingent from the group Save East Hampton, wearing bright orange shirts proclaiming “Bury the Lines,” and members of Long Island Businesses for Responsible Energy, LIBFRE, a group that has sued PSEG over the transmission line installation. Rebecca Singer of that group recapped members’ concerns about the toxicity of pentachlorophenol, which coats the new utility poles.

Members of Save East Hampton reiterated their concerns about the tall poles and lines, installed between a power substation on Buell Lane in East Hampton Village and another on Old Stone Highway in Amagansett. Several described fires on their lawns started by downed low-voltage lines and said that their safety would be even more severely at risk should the 60-foot poles, installed 20 feet from their houses, or the high-voltage lines attached to them come down.

“We need you to fix this mistake now,” said Richard Shilowich of McGuirk Street.

“Why are we talking about overhead lines?” rather than burying the lines, wondered Michael Brown. A PSEG speaker had just asserted that “most of the outages are tree-related.”

“We are demanding that you follow what other developed countries have done all across the planet and bury the lines,” said Helen Mendez.

“There was no planning, no transparency, no resiliency,” said Jeremy Samuelson, who lives along the route and is the executive director of Concerned Citizens of Montauk. “This is what you get,” he said. “You have to come back a year later and eat some crow. This thing is an atrocity; I won’t sugarcoat it for you. The question is, is PSEG going to be our partner in fixing this mess?”

Several local officials made pointed comments at the start of the hearing, urging the utility company to be transparent about its plans for the area and to concentrate on renewable sources to meet growing energy needs.

State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr., the first speaker, referred to the high-voltage lines’ negative impact on scenic vistas and preserved lands in describing East Hampton residents’ determination to preserve and protect the town’s rural character and quality of life.

Sustained applause followed Supervisor Larry Cantwell’s comment that if PSEG’s plan “calls for $294 million in improvements, why not just take 10 percent of that amount and bury the new overhead lines?”

Mr. Cantwell and others recapped what they called a flawed procedure under LIPA, before the turnover to PSEG, to review and present the high-voltage line plan before it got under way. “There was no public participation in that environmental review process, and we can’t let that happen again,” he said. The blueprint for future utility projects, he said, should include “local input in any capital improvement that might be planned.”

Also lacking in Utility 2.0, Mr. Cantwell said, was development of a stand-alone energy source that could serve Montauk should a storm cut off its access to the mainland.

Mayor Paul Rickenbach echoed Mr. Thiele in calling for a standardized formula to be used by PSEG in decisions about covering the cost of burying electric lines — a key sticking point in the ongoing discussion about placing the East Hampton high-voltage line underground.

Michael Forst called for an independent citizens group to oversee the Long Island utility grid. “The utility monopoly needs to end on Long Island so that we do not continue with these backbreaking utility rates,” he said.

Creating new fossil fuel-burning plants — two are proposed for Montauk, one at Navy Road and another at an undisclosed location, and a third at Buell Lane in East Hampton Village — is counter to East Hampton Town’s recently adopted energy policy, of meeting 100 percent of the town’s electricity needs with renewable energy sources by 2020, said Gordian Raacke, director of Renewable Energy Long Island.

Don Matheson of Springs expressed concern that PSEG was “proposing to spend more money on dinosaur technology.” Barnaby Friedman submitted a letter on behalf of 13 East End organizations, include Group for the East End, the East Hampton Environmental Coalition, and the Surfrider Foundation’s Eastern Long Island chapter, opposing new power plants that use fossil fuels.

The Utility 2.0 plan, said Kathleen Cunningham of the Village Preservation Society, does not take into account potential climate-change impacts, of particular concern, she said, in this “unique geographical area.”

While the state Department of Public Service has regulatory authority over power companies across New York, the arrangement on Long Island is different, Ms. Bovey explained. The department’s Long Island office serves only in an oversight and review capacity to LIPA and PSEG Long Island, said its director.

“You have among the highest [electric] rates in the country,” she told the assembly. “Some people will say the highest, after Hawaii.”

Julia Bovey, the director of the New York State Department of Public Service’s Long Island office, got some thanks on Tuesday night for responding to calls for an East Hampton hearing on PSEG-Long Island’s long-range plan — and then she got an earful.

During an almost four-hour session at the village’s Emergency Services Building, speakers provided Ms. Bovey with plenty of food for thought. Her office will be compiling comments and recommendations on PSEG’s Utility 2.0 plan and advising the Long Island Power Authority board about whether it should be approved.

Virtually to a speaker, the comments were critical, either of the utility’s future plans or of the actions it has already taken here.

PSEG, which at the start of this year took over operation of Long Island’s power grid from LIPA, has run roughshod over local codes protecting the environment and aesthetics, speakers said. Many objected that its plan lacks specifics about the $294 million it has proposed for projects on the South Fork to meet future energy demand and reduce peak demand. Transparent and open communication, with local involvement in decision-making, is needed, residents and officials agreed. Some called an element of the plan that would increase renewable energy sources but also build new power plants using fossil fuels, backward-thinking, rather than forward.

Tuesday’s meeting in East Hampton and another that day in Riverhead were the last of five public hearings on the plan. Written comments can be submitted by email until midnight Sunday to [email protected], or by phone to a Department of Public Service opinion line, 800-335-2120. A copy of Utility 2.0 is on the department’s website at dps.ny.gov, through the Search by Case Number section; its number is 14-01299.

Once the comment period has ended, the Department of Public Service will send recommendations to PSEG and to the LIPA board, which must approve a final draft. Completion is targeted for early December.

The plan has several elements, a PSEG representative said at the meeting. They include improving the resiliency of the present system, introducing energy-efficiency measures to reduce current demand while meeting projected future demand, and increasing the use of renewable energy by expanding solar, geothermal, and, potentially, wind energy programs. Company-sponsored initiatives to control peak energy use — for example, providing homeowners with programmable thermostats that can be controlled from afar by PSEG and suspending air conditioning for short periods during high-demand days — would be less expensive for PSEG than having to build new power plants, the representative said.

Those filling the room to capacity included a contingent from the group Save East Hampton, wearing bright orange shirts proclaiming “Bury the Lines,” and members of Long Island Businesses for Responsible Energy, LIBFRE, a group that has sued PSEG over the transmission line installation. Rebecca Singer of that group recapped members’ concerns about the toxicity of pentachlorophenol, which coats the new utility poles.

Members of Save East Hampton reiterated their concerns about the tall poles and lines, installed between a power substation on Buell Lane in East Hampton Village and another on Old Stone Highway in Amagansett. Several described fires on their lawns started by downed low-voltage lines and said that their safety would be even more severely at risk should the 60-foot poles, installed 20 feet from their houses, or the high-voltage lines attached to them come down.

“We need you to fix this mistake now,” said Richard Shilowich of McGuirk Street.

“Why are we talking about overhead lines?” rather than burying the lines, wondered Michael Brown. A PSEG speaker had just asserted that “most of the outages are tree-related.”

“We are demanding that you follow what other developed countries have done all across the planet and bury the lines,” said Helen Mendez.

“There was no planning, no transparency, no resiliency,” said Jeremy Samuelson, who lives along the route and is the executive director of Concerned Citizens of Montauk. “This is what you get,” he said. “You have to come back a year later and eat some crow. This thing is an atrocity; I won’t sugarcoat it for you. The question is, is PSEG going to be our partner in fixing this mess?”

Several local officials made pointed comments at the start of the hearing, urging the utility company to be transparent about its plans for the area and to concentrate on renewable sources to meet growing energy needs.

State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr., the first speaker, referred to the high-voltage lines’ negative impact on scenic vistas and preserved lands in describing East Hampton residents’ determination to preserve and protect the town’s rural character and quality of life.

Sustained applause followed Supervisor Larry Cantwell’s comment that if PSEG’s plan “calls for $294 million in improvements, why not just take 10 percent of that amount and bury the new overhead lines?”

Mr. Cantwell and others recapped what they called a flawed procedure under LIPA, before the turnover to PSEG, to review and present the high-voltage line plan before it got under way. “There was no public participation in that environmental review process, and we can’t let that happen again,” he said. The blueprint for future utility projects, he said, should include “local input in any capital improvement that might be planned.”

Also lacking in Utility 2.0, Mr. Cantwell said, was development of a stand-alone energy source that could serve Montauk should a storm cut off its access to the mainland.

Mayor Paul Rickenbach echoed Mr. Thiele in calling for a standardized formula to be used by PSEG in decisions about covering the cost of burying electric lines — a key sticking point in the ongoing discussion about placing the East Hampton high-voltage line underground.

Michael Forst called for an independent citizens group to oversee the Long Island utility grid. “The utility monopoly needs to end on Long Island so that we do not continue with these backbreaking utility rates,” he said.

Creating new fossil fuel-burning plants — two are proposed for Montauk, one at Navy Road and another at an undisclosed location, and a third at Buell Lane in East Hampton Village — is counter to East Hampton Town’s recently adopted energy policy, of meeting 100 percent of the town’s electricity needs with renewable energy sources by 2020, said Gordian Raacke, director of Renewable Energy Long Island.

Don Matheson of Springs expressed concern that PSEG was “proposing to spend more money on dinosaur technology.” Barnaby Friedman submitted a letter on behalf of 13 East End organizations, include Group for the East End, the East Hampton Environmental Coalition, and the Surfrider Foundation’s Eastern Long Island chapter, opposing new power plants that use fossil fuels.

The Utility 2.0 plan, said Kathleen Cunningham of the Village Preservation Society, does not take into account potential climate-change impacts, of particular concern, she said, in this “unique geographical area.”

While the state Department of Public Service has regulatory authority over power companies across New York, the arrangement on Long Island is different, Ms. Bovey explained. The department’s Long Island office serves only in an oversight and review capacity to LIPA and PSEG Long Island, said its director.

“You have among the highest [electric] rates in the country,” she told the assembly. “Some people will say the highest, after Hawaii.”

The gallerist Larry Gagosian sat quietly in the John Drew Theater at Guild Hall last week, greeting some of the high-powered guests at a screening he was hosting but mostly keeping to himself in a back row. He left it to the film’s director to introduce it and was out of his seat by the time the post-screening discussion began.

His low-key demeanor stood in sharp contrast to recent filings in a long-running lawsuit against him brought by Ronald Perelman, a former friend and client. Both men are part-time East Hampton residents.

Mr. Perelman first sued Mr. Gagosian in 2012, asserting fraud in provisions regarding the resale of a sculpture he had commissioned from Jeff Koons two years before. Such provisions “effectively crippled plaintiff’s ability to resell ‘Popeye’ at its fair market value,” the suit claimed.

The dealer also stipulated that Mr. Perelman could not resell the work to anyone until it had been completed, according to the lawsuit, despite an agreement stating that it could be resold once paid for. At that point, the sculpture had been delayed for seven months because of issues with the fabricator, prompting Mr. Perelman to believe “that the work would not be completed and delivered at any time in the near future.”

The two parties eventually agreed to value the work at $4.25 million as part of a purchase agreement for a painting by Cy Twombly, “Leaving Paphos Ringed With Waves.” Mr. Perelman contended in the 2012 lawsuit, however, that the value of the Koons had increased significantly from the time of the 2011 agreement, and that the exchange resulted in a loss to him of several million dollars. He amended the complaint a few months later to charge that not only had Mr. Gagosian, by dealings with a third party, artificially inflated the price of the Twombly, but had also undervalued other works Mr. Perelman had offered in exchange for the painting.

More broadly, the suit suggests, as many articles about Mr. Gagosian in recent years have asserted, that the gallerist’s dominant position in the art market gives him unfettered power to set and maintain market prices for the artists he represents, by sales through both the gallery and at auction.

Some of the past month’s filings in the case have addressed ongoing issues related to the subpoenas of Alberto, Jose, and David Mugrabi, a family of art collectors and private dealers that has partnered with the Gagosian Gallery on many deals over the years. Subpoenas have also been issued for many years of documents related to those dealings.

Mr. Perelman maintains that the Mugrabis’ ownership of the Twombly painting, during the five months in which it was initially presented to him and then offered to him again at $3.5 million above the original asking price, served to purposefully inflate the price over its fair-market value. The painting was eventually bargained down to $10.5 million.

In a letter to the court, the Mugrabis’ attorneys said that given their clients’ limited involvement, it was unreasonable to require them to deliver years of unrelated documents.

In phone conversations transcribed by an associate of Alberto Mugrabi from his end in 2009 and published in New York magazine last year, Mr. Mugrabi and Mr. Gagosian agreed to buy Warhol pieces that appeared to be unlikely to sell at an upcoming auction. According to the transcript, Mr. Mugrabi discussed the works with a Sotheby’s director in an attempt to convince the seller that his asking price was too high. The magazine noted that about half the art sold at contemporary art auctions that year were by artists represented by Mr. Gagosian.

Mr. Perelman is not the only person who has sued Mr. Gagosian. Jan Cowles, a collector and the mother of Charles Cowles, a gallery owner in  Manhattan  until 2009, sued the gallery over work from her collection that her son sold without her knowledge or permission. Mr. Perelman’s amended complaint includes some details from that lawsuit.

Mr. Gagosian’s attorneys requested this month to depose Mr. Perelman in September, not in October as the Perelman side had offered, which would be only days before the discovery cutoff date. The Gagosian lawyers have been asking for a deposition date since February. This month, they requested full tax documents from the plaintiffs related to the value of the art at issue.

The Perelman side has offered only redacted documents to date, stating that the information withheld had been approved by the court.

Mr. Gagosian has also requested that the plaintiffs’ communication with Dentons, the law firm that represented Ms. Cowles, be made available to them. Mr. Perelman cited information from the Cowles case in his amended complaint asserting that the valuations of the Twombly painting, as well as the works used in exchange for its acquisition, were fraudulent.

Whether these actions are about money or ego remains to be seen. The amount involved is relatively small, given the billions each party manages and deals with on a yearly basis. Aside from the filings, neither is talking, and Mr. Gagosian is famous for not giving interviews. His last one was with Peter Brant, a friend and fellow Warhol investor, in Interview magazine in December 2012. A Guild Hall panel discussion this summer, “Andy Warhol: Global Phenomenon,” featured Mr. Gagosian, Mr. Brant, and Alberto Mugrabi.

In the past few years, most press about Mr. Gagosian has been less than flattering, detailing artist defections and his “shark-like” business practices. In his lawsuit, Mr. Perelman appears to yearn for a simpler time, mentioning that “in addition to their relationship concerning art, Gagosian and Mr. Perelman are also friends and have been business partners outside of the art world. For example, Mr. Perelman and Gagosian, with others, invested as partners in the re-opened Blue Parrot restaurant in East Hampton, New York. They have been guests in each other’s homes, have met often for dinner or drinks, and have attended the same social events.”

Mr. Perelman did not appear to be in attendance at last week’s film screening. Mr. Gagosian was not one of the bold-faced names mentioned at Mr. Perelman’s recent Apollo in the Hamptons party, which attracted such notable guests as Barbra Streisand and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

East Hampton residents are gearing up for a meeting Tuesday with officials of PSEG Long Island, the town’s electrical utility. The meeting was called to discuss PSEG’s long-range plan to meet energy needs, but will likely also become a forum on its installation here of a backup electrical transmission line running over six miles from East Hampton Village to Amagansett.

Objections to the project have spurred the creation of two citizens groups, one of which, Long Island Businesses for Responsible Energy, has sued PSEG, alleging negative environmental and health impacts stemming from the high-voltage wires and from a toxic chemical applied to the utility poles. Both groups demand that the new lines be placed underground.

The meeting, at East Hampton Village’s Emergency Services Building on Cedar Street, will begin with a presentation at 5 p.m., followed by a comment period at 6.

Renewable Energy Long Island, an East Hampton-based organization, mounted a letter-writing campaign this week to raise awareness of the utility’s long-range plan, called Utility 2.0. Part of the plan, the organization said in an email, “is to install several polluting, oil-burning power plants in East Hampton Township.”

“East Hampton does not need these power plants,” the mailing said. “There are alternative proposals to provide the same power need through renewable energy and battery storage technology.”

By unanimous vote, the town board recently set a goal of meeting all of East Hampton’s electricity needs with renewable energy by 2020, and all of its energy needs by 2030. The board has approved several proposed solar plant installations on town properties, which would be created through a utility company program; they are being reviewed by the sponsor.

Renewable Energy Long Islando tell PSEG “that we deserve a real utility of the future — one that is serious about renewable energy usage and climate-change mitigation.”

Save East Hampton has also called for residents to turn out for the meeting, and to “demand that the lines be buried.”

“Our lives and livelihoods depend on it,” the group said. The large new utility poles, carrying 33,000-volt transmission lines through residential areas, are “dangerous, unsightly, and will require expensive, long-term, constant repairs,” it said. Save East Hampton also claimed in a release to have found an underground electrical line constructed in 1903 along Route 114 and Montauk Highway in East Hampton, which, it said, has provided uninterrupted power ever since.

Federal Emergency Management Agency money earmarked for utility system upgrades to prevent damage in future storms should be used to pay for placing the new lines underground, said the group.

Town Supervisor Larry Cantwell and Village Mayor Paul Rickenbach, along with State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr., who have criticized PSEG’s Utility 2.0 plan for a lack of specifics as to future projects here, were instrumental in the utility’s agreeing to hold a public information session locally.

In its lawsuit against PSEG, Long Island Businesses for Responsible Energy cites potential harm from pentachlorothenol, a chemical applied to utility poles, as well as from the effects of electromagnetic fields emanating from the high-voltage wires. PSEG recently moved to dismiss the suit, calling those claims speculative. The utility also argued that the lawsuit was filed too late, saying that a four-month window during which, under law, PSEG’s conclusion that the project had little potential to do environmental harm could be challenged, had closed.

LIBFRE has proposed a settlement under which the lines would be buried or rerouted and the cost covered by the federal FEMA funding. It suggests that the court broker the settlement, with terms to cover not only paying for the underground installation, but also future “alternative means of energy generation, energy efficiency, conservation, and renewables, and protection of the health, property values, and the environment.”

An action against PSEG Long Island by East Hampton Town, which issued a stop-work order curtailing the utility’s work on an Amagansett substation because site plan approval had not been obtained, is also before the court.

Multiple causes and conditions are responsible for the poor health of Georgica Pond, and multiple measures must be taken to improve water quality there. This was the conclusion of a meeting last Thursday that brought together representatives from East Hampton Town and Village, including the East Hampton Town Trustees, as well as the Nature Conservancy, a research scientist, and an environmental consultant.

The trustees, who manage most town waterways on behalf of the public, closed the pond to crabbing and the harvesting of other marine life on July 24 after the discovery of cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, which can be harmful to people and animals. They advised against swimming or wading near blooms or surface scum, drinking the water, or allowing children or pets near blooms and surface scum. At their meeting on Aug. 12, the trustees unanimously voted to extend the closure through Tuesday. 

Cyanobacteria blooms typically form in nutrient-rich waters during hot, calm weather, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. In 2012, a dog died after it was believed to have ingested water from the pond. Its owners were among the shoreline property owners that attended the trustees’ Aug. 12 meeting to voice their concerns about the pond’s health.

East Hampton Town Supervisor Larry Cantwell said that one result of last Thursday’s meeting was a decision to prepare an outline of management measures that the town, village, trustees, and private property owners should take. A draft document will be prepared and circulated “within the next several weeks,” Mr. Cantwell said.

Also at the meeting was Pio Lombardo of Lombardo Associates, an environmental consulting and engineering firm that is preparing a comprehensive wastewater management plan for the town. Mr. Lombardo pointed to fertilizers and septic systems as the likeliest primary factors contributing to the cyanobacteria bloom in the pond. He described his assessment as preliminary, but said, “the issue is excess nitrogen or phosphorus getting into the pond, as best as we can tell. There’s also a question regarding the influence of bottom sediments that needs to be scientifically determined.”

On large lots, Mr. Lombardo said, landscape fertilization “can bemuch greater than even the wastewater contribution. We’ve done that type of footprint analysis in terms of the likely discharges of nitrogen from properties based on lot size and typical fertilization rates. As the lots get bigger . . . it becomes the significant factor — not to diminish that dealing with wastewater is critical as well.”

Diane McNally, the clerk of the trustees, who also attended the meeting, said that an excavation permit from the D.E.C. to allow dredging was the “largest and most obvious project” to mitigate the environmental injuries to the pond. “When you dredge the channel, you want to go from deep water to deep water in any body, so when the pond is open it can really drain.”

Mr. Cantwell said that an expedited excavation permit-renewal application was discussed at last Thursday’s meeting. “Apparently, the D.E.C. is requesting more information than in the past, a lot more information . . . requiring study and analysis in order to qualify for the permit,” he said. “We’re going to work our way through that.” Another challenge, said Mr. Lombardo, is cost. “Disposal of dredge material can be quite expensive,” he said.

The trustees open the pond to the Atlantic Ocean on a biannual basis, on or around April 15 and Oct. 15. “But we have noted of late that the spring opening has been getting earlier,” Ms. McNally said, based on water temperature and fish migration. “It’s been earlier than April 15 in the last few years, and a bit later in October. Our weather patterns are changing a bit.”

“In general, we are seeing that climate change is having an influence,” Mr. Lombardo said. “Water temperature is important: At higher temperatures, one sees higher algae growth rates, and less desirable algae species.”

“We need to move as quickly as possible,” Mr. Cantwell said. “There may be multiple methods to mitigate, but that doesn’t mean we should be overwhelmed by it.

Following last year’s sharp decline in test scores, local school administrators had spent recent weeks on tenterhooks, anxiously awaiting the annual release of this year’s test scores. The drop in scores last year was mostly due to changes in curriculum based on the Common Core, a national standard meant to improve critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Before the Common Core was adopted, passage rates in Suffolk County averaged between 65 to 75 percent in both math and English on annual spring tests. Across Long Island this year, the number of students who passed the math exam rose from 37.5 percent to 43.4 percent, although English had a slight decline, from 39.6 percent to 36.8 percent. Statewide, passage rates were 36 percent in math and 31 percent in English.

South Fork schools saw similar uneven results, with some districts above the state average, while others continued to show signs of struggle. The difference in test performance can partly be explained by divergent student demographics and the small number enrolled in some local schools.

To pass the tests, each student in grades three to eight had to score either 3 or 4, meaning they either met or exceeded grade-level proficiency standards. The New York State Education Department has said students who score only 2 are “on track for current graduation requirements,” but 3 is the college and career-ready metric most districts strive to meet.

In East Hampton, performance varied by grade. For instance, 37 percent of its third graders met or exceeded proficiency in math, but only 24 percent did so in English. In the sixth grade, 43 percent passed the math exam, with 31 percent passing the English exam. In the eighth grade, only 23 percent met or exceeded proficiency in math though 51 percent met or exceeded proficiency in English.

“We did not do as well as we would have liked, though there were definitely some bright spots,” Richard Burns, the East Hampton superintendent, said Monday. “Right now, we’re analyzing the data to help determine areas we need to focus on to improve.”

The Child Development Center of the Hamptons, an East Hampton charter school, had far lower rates. In the third grade, 77 percent scored either 1 or 2 on the math exam, with 89 percent scoring 1 or 2 in English. Only 18 percent of the fifth grade met or exceeded proficiency in math and English.

Last year, Amagansett far outperformed neighboring districts. This year, 56 percent of its third grade met or exceeded proficiency in math, with 38 percent doing so in English. Fifth-grade math was a particular bright spot, with 80 percent meeting or exceeding proficiency. In the fourth-grade math test, 69 percent scored either 3 or 4.

“Overall, our math scores were higher than our [English language arts] scores as consistent with the rest of the state,” Eleanor Tritt, the Amagansett superintendent, said. “But our E.L.A. scores do compare favorably with other East End districts. We are reviewing allof the test results and questions the state did release so we can actually glean . . . how we can improve our instruction in both E.L.A. and math.”

In Wainscott, 40 percent of third graders scored either 3 or 4 on the math exam, but only five students were tested. Results of the English exam were not released. Because of its small class sizes, with between two to four students per grade, results for Sagaponack were similarly withheld as inconclusive.

In Bridgehampton, performance varied by grade as it did last year. Though 80 percent of the sixth grade scored 3 or 4 in math, only 20 percent did the same on the English test. Only 10 percent of the seventh grade passed the math exam, and only 18 percent passed in English. None of the eighth graders met or exceeded the proficiency standard in math, and only 27 percent did so in English.

“Understanding that this is a transition period is important as we interpret results, as well as remembering that this is just one data set,” Lois Favre, the Bridgehampton superintendent, said. “I am encouraged with our improvement in mathematics, as that was a real area of focus for us. While we did not see the growth we would like to see in E.L.A. state results, I believe that with a careful review of data . . . we will be able to set meaningful goals for ongoing improvement.”

Springs, meanwhile, saw slightly higher passing rates than last year, though some of its lower grades continued to perform significantly below the state average. For instance, 26 percent of the third grade scored either 3 or 4 on the math exam, with 28 percent doing the same in English. Among seventh graders, however, 40 percent met or exceeded proficiency standards in math and English.

Finally, in Montauk, performance similarly varied. Among third graders, 79 percent scored either 3 or 4 in math, with 52 percent doing so in English. Fifth and sixth graders saw respective passage rates of only 24 percent and 28 percent in math. Though only 31 percent of the eighth grade demonstrated proficiency in math, 64 percent met or exceeded the English standard.

“Some classes did fairly well, others not so much,” said Jack Perna, said the Montauk superintendent, who noted that in small schools, class results are fairly predictable from one year to the next. “We are trying to get where we need to be, and we will. I am not as happy with this year’s results. Overall, we did better last year.”

The cliffs of Shadmoor State Park in Montauk and the properties west of it have an almost mystical look, with gullies and hoodoos (tall spires or pyramids) caused by the ocean and rainwater, which eat away at the clay. A jogging and walking path is moved on an almost annual basis, as sections slip down to the beach.

John Ryan is the owner of a 1,800-square-foot, two-story house at the end of Surfside Drive, to the west of the park. He has owned the property since the late 1960s and has watched its 40-foot-tall clay cliffs erode and collapse into the ocean.

On Tuesday, the East Hampton Town Zoning Board of Appeals voted to ask him to submit a detailed environmental analysis of his proposal for a rock revetment under the State Environmental Quality Review Act. The board has already heard about seven hours of public testimony and has a six-inch-thick file on the application.

The decision to seek the environmental impact study is consistent with a request made by Jeremy Samuelson of Concerned Citizens of Montauk at a hearing on July 15, a view that the four members of the board apparently share. (One Z.B.A. member, Lee White, has recused himself.)

The applicant, his representatives, and those who oppose the revetment agree that his house is in danger. After Hurricane Sandy, Mr. Ryan lost almost 30 feet between the house and the abyss, according to his engineer, Drew Bennett. What to do about it, if anything, is the conundrum facing the board.

Mr. Ryan has asked the board to approve a solid revetment 185 feet long with 15 to 25 feet of sloping stone between the cliff wall and the ocean. It would stand 22 feet high and have 10 to 12-ton boulders at its base. Tapered at each end, it would wrap around to the east joining an existing revetment on Mr. Ryan’s property. That structure was built to stop water from running down a gulley to the east of the house, but does not face the ocean.

“This application has a lot of potential environmental impact,” David Lys, a board member, said Tuesday night. Opponents had warned that the revetment would damage the coast in both directions, with properties to the west possibly taking most of the impact.

“More questions were raised than were answered,” another member, Cate Rogers, said. She pointed out that the applicant’s representatives had said the proposed revetment had the potential for scouring the cliffs farther west, andshe said she had found inconsistencies in written statements submitted.

John Whelan, the board’s chairman, emphasized the word “may” several times, saying that the proposed structure “may have a significant environmental impact.” 

The positive SEQRA decision was not entirely harmonious. Don Cirillo, who has championed the rights of homeowners to protect their properties, questioned whether other board members had already made up their minds. At one point he pushed for a vote on the application without further study. “What do board members need that we don’t have now?” he asked. “We’re talking about the man potentially losing his house. What are we missing to get to a no or yes vote?”

Ms. Rogers took exception to his repeated assertion that members may already have made of their minds. “I don’t think it is fair for you to say that you know how I’m going to vote,” she said.

In the end, Mr. Whelan guided the board to a 4-0 vote, with Mr. Cirillo joining in. He warned of a potential legal impact were the board to turn down the application without having asked for a full environmental assessment. “For the people of East Hampton, this deserves a full analysis. I haven’t gotten enough information. This is being fair to the applicant. This is giving him the best chance to put his best foot forward. The public has to be involved.”

Though Hillary Clinton was not expected at BookHampton until 5 p.m. on Saturday, the line to see her began to form that morning. Edna Lanieri-Dewitt, who was first in line, arrived at 10 a.m.

“I’m excited about just meeting her,” Ms. Lanieri-Dewitt said. “It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I’m thrilled that she’s in this world.”

By 5 p.m., the line stretched down Main Street and wrapped around to John Papa’s Café on Park Place. The book signing was sold out by Friday, with all 1,000 tickets secured in advance by buying a copy of Mrs. Clinton’s book “Hard Choices” from BookHampton, said Charline Spektor, the store’s owner.

Mrs. Clinton began signing books a little after 5. Though she reportedly signs 400 books per hour, she still took the time to greet each person, even pausing to have conversations with some. She spoke to one woman about her injured leg, saying, “I broke my elbow a few years back and did physical therapy for it. Have you started physical therapy yet? I hope it goes well for you.” She also shared a moment with a friend, Patti Kenner, and the two posed for a photo.

The crowd was filled with admirers of Mrs. Clinton, many of whom were sporting “Ready for Hillary” stickers in reference to her presumed 2016 presidential campaign.

Barbara Macklowe, an East Hampton artist and author of the book “India In My Eyes,” said, “I never anticipated a line this long. . . . I think it’s because there are a lot of politically involved, liberal-minded people in this town.”

 Ms. Macklowe met Mrs. Clinton previously at an event held by a women’s organization, and said she supports her because, “I think she’s the most impressive person I’ve ever heard speak.”

There were a few unexpected supporters waiting in line. Aubrey Peterson, who is 11, is already a big fan, and said that he was willing to wait all day to see Mrs. Clinton. “Meeting Hillary Clinton in like meeting the Queen of England,” he said.

A group of four British teenagers were also in line, unperturbed by the long wait. “We want to see her because she’s an inspirational woman. We really admire her success,” Bella Charlton said.

“I’ve been coming here for ages,” said Martha Meshoulam, “and Book?Hampton is the place to go. I want to support the bookstore and support printed books.”

Ms. Spektor was very pleased with the outcome of the event, and said “We are very honored that Secretary Clinton put us into her schedule. She came to a bookstore, and that says a lot.”

Ms. Spektor was notified that Mrs. Clinton would be coming to the store about six weeks ago, but said that she and her employees had “been crossing their fingers for over a year.” Preparations for the event went smoothly, in part because of help from the East Hampton Village police.

“Chief Larsen and Captain Tracey couldn’t have been kinder, and were enormously helpful, so that everyone would be safe and comfortable,” Ms. Spektor said.

Not everyone, though, was happy to see Mrs. Clinton in town. Ruth Vered, the owner of the Vered Gallery in the alley behind BookHampton, protested during the signing. Dressed in all black, she stood in front of Starbucks for the entirety of the event, holding a handmade sign that read “The Worst Sec of State.” Vered is Israeli, and holds dual citizenship in the United States and Israel. She was an Israeli paratrooper during the 1960s.

“Every move she made was bad,” Ms. Vered said. She is not someone I would want as a role model for my daughters.” She cited Mrs. Clinton’s involvement in Cairo and her relationship with her aide, Huma Abedin, as two of her biggest shortcomings. Ms. Abedin is married to Anthony Weiner, a former Democratic congressman. Ms. Vered was the only protester that day.

Howard Dean, a 2004 candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination and a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, was spotted at the event and posed with Mrs. Clinton for a picture. (His mother has a house in East Hampton, and he is a frequent visitor.)

“I’ll wait forever for her to be president,” said Linda Fuller, a former English teacher at the East Hampton Middle School. “We need American women in power.”

A Queens man allegedly fell asleep behind the wheel after he had been drinking and crashed his minivan into a tree in East Hampton Village on Sunday, leaving his three passengers in critical condition.

Jungsik Lee, 60, of Elmhurst was arrested on a misdemeanor drunken-driving charge on Sunday evening, though more serious charges will likely be brought, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office said during his arraignment Tuesday. In the meantime, East Hampton Town Justice Steven Tekulsky set bail at $10,000, which was posted.

Mr. Lee was heading west on Pantigo Road near Gay Lane after a fishing trip in Montauk when his 2005 Nissan Quest minivan veered off the road into a lamppost and hit a tree on the north side of the road on Sunday at about 4:30 p.m., according to East Hampton Village police. “There are no skid marks,” Chief Gerard Larsen said. “The driver apparently fell asleep.” 

The passengers were semi-conscious and all suffering from internal injuries, Chief Larsen said. Two of them were airlifted immediately to Stony Brook University Medical Center, and the third was transported to Southampton Hospital and later transferred to Stony Brook when his condition worsened.

Duk Ju Oh, 67, was sitting in the front passenger seat, and Dong Won Lee, 56, was sitting behind him. (It is unclear how or if Dong Won Lee is related to Jungsik Lee.) Sooh Won Kim, 64, who was seated behind the driver, was in such bad condition police weren’t able to immediately identify him, they said. Police were not sure whether they were wearing seat belts or not.

The East Hampton Village Volunteer Ambulance Association, the Bridgehampton Fire Department, and Springs Fire Department, along with an emergency medical technician from the Amagansett Fire Department who responded with a chief, treated the victims. Pantigo Road, which is part of Montauk Highway, was closed between Gay Lane and Accabonac Road for seven and a half hours, until midnight, while detectives from both the village and town police reconstructed the accident, Chief Larsen said.

Mr. Lee, who was wearing his seatbelt, was taken to Southampton Hospital for a cut on his leg and neck pain. An officer interviewing him there smelled“an odor of an alcoholic beverage on his breath,” according to the arrest report. He consented to have his blood drawn, police said, and it was sent to the Suffolk County Crime Lab for testing. According to Justice Tekulsky, that number came back as .11 of 1 percent. A reading of .08 or higher triggers a driving-while-intoxicated charge.

Mr. Lee was released from Southampton Hospital Monday night and arraigned on the drunken-driving charge Tuesday afternoon. His head bowed, dressed in a blue hospital gown, he propped himself up on crutches. Though his right knee was wrapped in what appeared to be a soft cast, he declined an offer to be seated during the arraignment.

“I want to advise both the people and the defense attorney that I was present at the scene of the accident,” East Hampton Town Justice Steven Tekulsky said as he began the proceedings. Justice Tekulsky is a longtime volunteer with the East Hampton Fire Department’s heavy rescue squad. “However, when I arrived, the defendant was not in the car. I did participate in cutting the passenger out from the rear door,” he said, explaining that he remained impartial as to the criminal case before him.

Mr. Lee told Justice Tekulsky that he had come to Montauk to go fishing Sunday morning with his three friends. Mr. Lee, who appeared shaken, spoke in broken English.

Rob Archer, an assistant district attorney, asked bail to be set at $10,000, pointing out the possibility of additional charges. Justice Tekulsky agreed on the bail amount, with a caveat: “I would suggest the D.A.’s office should upgrade the charges as soon as possible,” if that is its inclination. The Suffolk County Vehicular Crimes unit has been in constant contact with the village police detectives handling the case since Sunday afternoon. Mr. Lee was represented by Brian Francese, an attorney with the Legal Aid Society.

Mr. Lee’s wife was seated in the courtroom, along with a family friend. The wife spoke no English. When told what the bail amount was, she went to the side courtroom where she counted out $10,000 from her handbag, with two clerks each counting the stack of $100 bills before filling out a receipt. The friend, who identified himself only as Mr. Han, said Mr. Lee was an occasional drinker who would drink only two or three beers.

With the bail paid, Mr. Lee’s wife took the receipt and, along with Mr. Han, drove to police headquarters, from where Mr. Lee was released.

East Hampton Village should create and adopt a resolution pledging to meet its energy needs through renewable sources and reducing its energy consumption, Frank Dalene, chairman of East Hampton Town’s energy sustainability advisory committee, told the village board at its meeting on Friday.

Declaring that “our work has only begun,” Mr. Dalene outlined the town’s recently-adopted goal to meet 100 percent of communitywide electricity needs with renewable energy sources by 2020 and the equivalent of 100 percent of economywide energy needs, such as electricity, heating, and transportation, with renewable energy sources by 2030.

Richard Lawler, a village board member, introduced Mr. Dalene along with John Botos, of the town’s Natural Resources Department, and Gordian Raacke, executive director of Renewable Energy Long Island. All, including Mr. Lawler, are members of the energy sustainability advisory committee.

“We need to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions coming from power and other sectors” in order to mitigate disastrous consequences of climate change, Mr. Raacke told the board. An 80-to-90-percent reduction in those emissions is urgent, he said.

Renewable-energy technologies have advanced sufficiently to be both efficient and cost-effective, Mr. Dalene said, making the town’s goals realistic and achievable. Should proposed installations, including solar farms on town-owned sites and the Deepwater One wind farm to be situated 30 miles offshore, be completed and operational, “we will have more than achieved those goals,” he said. On an individual level, federal, state, and local initiatives, such as financing programs through the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, make installation of a solar panel array affordable to homeowners, he added.

Mr. Botos told the board of the town’s outreach plans, which he said will include engaging the public through an “unplug” campaign and a logo design competition in the schools. A section devoted to energy and reducing consumption will be added to the town’s website, he said. He also discussed a statewide initiative in which homeowners can obtain a free energy audit, which includes an analysis and recommendations on reducing energy consumption and waste, and programs including a fast-track solar permitting process and code changes that will speed electric-vehicle supply permits for homeowners. An electric-vehicle charging station should be in place at Town Hall in a month’s time, he said, “to show that the government is embracing this technology.”

“I speak for the entire board when I say we support your goals,” Mr. Lawler told the men, adding that the village has installed solar panels on three of its buildings, reducing its electricity bills by half, and purchased some electric vehicles. “We are in sync with your goals,” he said.

Mayor Paul F. Rickenbach Jr. asked for an opportunity to look at the proposal in depth. “I assure you, we will somehow come up with a favorable accord,” he said.

In other news from the meeting, public hearings on three proposed laws garnered no public comment and the laws were adopted. One prohibits parking on the north side of Newtown Lane from the intersection of Conklin Terrace west for 20 feet. Another limits parking on the north side of Newtown Lane between Sherrill Road and Conklin Terrace, and from the point 20 feet west of Conklin Terrace west for 300 feet, to two hours between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m.

The third law amends a section of code pertaining to preservation of dunes, allowing for the placement of beach-compatible sand on land within 150 feet of the south edge of the beach grass along the ocean. Otherwise, digging, dredging, or excavating, or depositing fill or other material in that area is prohibited. The law also prohibits clearing, removing, uprooting, burying, or otherwise damaging vegetation, or replacing it with lawn, sod, or turf in that area. However, the amendment provides an exemption for the construction of elevated pedestrian walkways for noncommercial access to the beach.