AMAGANSETT

N.P. Funding II L.P. to Annabel Means and William Taussig, Montauk Highway, $192,500.

Borghi to John and Mark Kraus, Edwards Close, $885,000.

BRIDGEHAMPTON

Second Narrow Lane Corp. to Jeffrey and Jacqueline Chernov, Narrow Lane, $452,500.

Siwicki to Robert Savoia, Montauk Highway, $200,000.

Hildreth to George Dandridge and Marcos Tychbrojcher, Halsey Lane, $295,000.

Ganna Realty Corp. to Anne Hearst, Butter Lane, $485,000.

Walsh to Koral Dev. L.L.C., Scuttlehole Road $150,000.

EAST HAMPTON

Palmer to Nan Dillon, Osborne Lane, $215,000.

Bergsma to Lawrence Rich and Seymour Levy, Chestnut Way, $162,000.

Munson to Jeffrey Rosen and Richard Mervis, Mill Hill Lane, $430,000.

Malcomson to Thomas Dwyer, Morrell Boulevard, $203,000.

MONTAUK

Haft to Philip and Melanie Arfman, Otis Road, $178,000.

NORTHWEST

Esposito to Bruce Karp and Stephen Goldstone, High Point Road, $225,000.

Cipriano to Bruce and Phyllis Jaeger, Cobblers Court, $446,000.

NOYAC

Grillo to William Pratt and Diane Malanowski, Harbor Watch Court, $292,000.

SAG HARBOR

Daszewski estate to Kenneth and Wendy Bichel, Bayview Drive, $180,000.

Whitehead to Vincent and Ann Moore, Terry Drive, $160,500.

SAGAPONACK

Mumford to Robert Hurst, Bridge Lane (34.7 acres, vacant), $5,000,000.

North to David and Karen Schoenthal, Parsonage Lane, $900,000.

Sarlin to Emily Youssouf, Surfside Drive, $645,000.

Jones (trustee) to Mary Vassel, Sagg Road, $1,037,500.

SPRINGS

Cataletto estate to Edward Herbst and Barbara Close, King's Point Road, $260,000.

Lucchese to Albert and Natasha Dombrowski, Bay Inlet Road, $300,000.

WATER MILL

Foster to C. Paul and Marciana Verba, Hayground Road, $270,000.

Conrad to Kenneth and Ann Bialkin, Bay Lane, $2,225,000.

Ellenhorn to Howard Smiley, Seven Pond-Towd Road, $355,000.

Data provided by Long Island Profiles Publishing Co. Inc. of Babylon.

Intrusion onto fragile wetland setbacks are not warranted when a front-yard setback would suffice, the East Hampton Town Zoning Board of Appeals decided Tuesday, in a ruling on an application by the North Fork Bank Development Corporation, the subject of an Oct. 1 hearing.

The corporation was seeking two 23-foot wetlands setback variances for a 2,180-square-foot, two-story house and a swimming pool with decking planned for its Lighthouse Landing Road, East Hampton, property.

Willing To Amend

A 528-square-foot attached garage is also planned for the Northwest Woods lot, which contains freshwater wetlands and is located about 100 yards from Northwest Harbor.

Brian Frank, a town planner, told the Z.B.A. and a representative of the corporation, Robert Fox, that he would rather see the board grant a 20-foot front-yard setback variance, which would require moving the structures 20 feet closer to the road and away from the wetlands.

Mr. Frank argued that his alternative would protect the wetlands, which he noted is part of a "very large wetland system" that includes the Grace Estate subdivision next door.

An East Hampton attorney, Patricia O'Donnell, spoke on behalf of two neighbors, Elizabeth and Frederick Cohen, who were "vehemently opposed" to the wetlands variances.

Mr. Fox indicated he would be willing to amend the application by moving the proposed house closer to the road.

Stephen Levine, an architect, and his wife, Laverne Dagras Levine, a designer, had lived on the East End for several years when they decided, 15 years ago, to renovate an old Sagaponack potato barn for a residence. They were particularly interested in maintaining the relationship of the building to the landscape.

Potato barns were built for storage, with three walls of the building underground. Natural insulation from the earth kept the potatoes from freezing in the winter and cool in the summer. Huge trucks could drive in through the large doors at the open end of the building and dump the potatoes directly on the floor.

"Even then, we were aware that the number of barns was diminishing, and did not want to lose sight of the fact that this had been a working barn," said Mr. Levine. Three large red ventilators marching along their roof ridge are original to the building and a dead giveaway that this is no ordinary house.

Drawing An Axis

As their plans took shape the landscaping also was laid down on paper. The length of the barn, built parallel to the road, was emphasized by a long hedge. Drawing a line down the center of the barn to the eastern end of the lot, Mr. Levine established an axis for the building and the garden.

The interior, from west to east, progresses from bedrooms to the living room in the center, to the dining area and kitchen, where the original barn doors were replaced with a wall of windows and two glass doors.

The floor levels vary gently, with a flight of stairs to the master suite and pairs of steps down to the dining room. A free-standing fireplace in the living room is also open on the dining side, level with the tabletop where everyone can see it.

Geometric Space

The kitchen door leads up another set of garden steps to a terrace under the grape arbor. This is a special spot for the Levines, inspired by the shady terraces of rural restaurants they visited in Southern Italy.

"We eat almost all our meals there as long as the weather holds. At night the arbor is lit with rows of tiny white Christmas lights and there is another light that accents the lotus plant in the reflecting pool," said Mrs. Levine.

A row of tiny spouts along a copper pipe, Mr. Levine's own invention, forms a series of fountains at the edge of the pool, a subtle addition of sparkle and sound.

An aerial view of the land shows clearly the owners' preoccupation with geometric space, indoors and out. As Stephen Levine is quick to admit, "Everything is architecture!"

Mowed A Straight Line

The long hedge bordering the road suddenly juts inward to form two rectangular parking spaces. An arched opening leads visitors through the hedge into a square courtyard, defined by a shed and plantings, and on to an entrance in the glass wall.

From the large living room window, the view runs straight down the axis, between the grape arbor and shed, between a pair of cherry trees, and along the path to a rectangular garden.

"When we first lived here the landscaping was still minimal, and we simply mowed a straight line to and around the vegetable garden." Today that vista is backed by a grove of evergreens, with a small opening at the center.

In time, these trees will grow into a dense thicket, and then the couple will high-prune the interior opening and create a cool, dark, outdoor retreat.

The Trains Run By

At the rear of the barn a large semi-circle of hedging defines the lawn and separates it from meadow grass and larger trees beyond.

As is typical of potato storage barns, the railroad is not far away, here forming the entire northern boundary of the property. Bamboo in irregular stands has grown together in an impenetrable wall, which screens and muffles the sight and sound of the trains that rumble by.

The Levines' subtle understanding of detail makes the open interior work especially well for entertaining. The wooden kitchen cabinets, for example, have a formal, contemporary look that belies their utilitarian purpose.

Subtle Detailing

The cooktop is another of Mr. Levine's adaptations. To keep the cooking area inconspicuous and narrow, he designed a single row of four black, grated burners that blend into the back of the countertop and are hidden from the dining area by a band of white molding.

Other black appliances, such as the toaster, seem to disappear.

There is a sense of fun and long-lasting pleasure about the Levines' house. Not long ago they carried back a pair of papier mach‚ acrobats from a Mexican vacation. These brightly colored figures now cavort from the collar beams in the living room, in front of a huge carnival sideshow banner of "Lady Medusa, the Snake Charmer."

In a basket nearby, a calico cat is quite content. She belongs to a neighbor, and comes over just for weekends.

The East Hampton Town Planning Board gave final approval last week for the creation of two new home sites at Cagramar Farm on North Main Street. The subdivision places the historic Sherrill farm cow barn on its own lot and creates two new lots behind it.

The proposal was first broached in the summer of 1995, when the Cagramar Farm owner, Thomas Martuscello, asked the town to purchase the development rights to 16 of the farm's 20 acres. The town made the purchase, leaving the remaining four acres to be divided by Mr. Martuscello.

The two new lots, just over an acre each, will be reached by a shared drive way from Accabonac Highway to the east. Planners opted for the longer driveway over an access from North Main Street to preserve the farm vistas. The new driveway will follow the path of an existing hedgerow.

Winery Plan

The lot split and the development-rights transfer were part of a package, which also proposes a winery on the site in the future. In response to Mr. Martuscello's plans to grow grapes on the farm and his request to allow a winery, the town drafted new laws permitting wineries in town.

If a winery were established on the property, it would be situated on the lot now housing the 100-year-old cow barn.

"Horrible, it's a terrible year," was how Chris Smith of the Cornell Cooperative Extension Service characterized the East End's 1996 scallop season, which opened in state waters on Oct. 1 and will open in town waters on Monday.

Baymen were so discouraged by earlier scouting forays into Northwest Harbor that few of them appeared with dredges on opening day. Some of those who did reported catching three and four - that's scallops, not bushels. "On the North Fork, the season lasted two hours," Mr. Smith said of Orient Bay.

Precipitous Drop

The disappointing shellfish showing follows last season's decent crop, and 1994's bumper crop, the best in a decade. Before the onslaught of brown algae, scallops brought between $1.5 and $2 million a year to the local economy.

But in 1985, scallops feeding on colonies of the microscopic brown algae literally starved. The algae, which had crowded out other species, offered no nutrition. The brown cloud also killed off eelgrass - prime scallop habitat.

The harvest fell from 480,800 pounds of scallop meat in 1980 to 300 pounds in 1987. The catch gradually increased to over 20,000 pounds last year and, apparently, crashed this year.

Some Good News

Last summer's invasion of the mysterious algae again killed off scallops and their spawn throughout the Peconic and Gardiner's Bays system.

The good news is that there was no appreciable amount of brown algae this summer, except in Moriches and Great South Bays to the west. Baymen are reporting healthy numbers of bug scallops in state as well as in East Hampton Town waters. The natural set will again be augmented by several hundred thousand grown at the East Hampton Town Shellfish Hatchery.

In the meantime, the hunt for a solution to the brown algae menace continues. At the request of Congressman Michael Forbes, a portion of a $15 million appropriations bill signed into law earlier this month contains money to continue the study into the causes of the destructive blooms.

AMAGANSETT

Patterson to William and Maria Di- Scipio, Alexis Court, $182,500.

Radway to Robert Lilien, Bendigo Road, $850,000.

BRIDGEHAMPTON

Taylor to Mark Hanna, Brick Kiln Road, $176,000.

Taylor to Frances Hanna, Brick Kiln Road, $176,000.

Taylor to Mark and Frances Hanna, Brick Kiln Road, $1,846,500.

Golub to Richard and Cara Ricca, Noyac Path, $225,000.

Manning to John and Mary Sullivan, Grouse Lane, $325,000.

Maidstone Development Inc. to Leonard Pisano Jr., Worchester Court, $380,000.

Goldberg to Nathan Hevrony, Mecox Road, $487,000.

Lusk to Jay Goldberg and Mary Cirillo, Dune Road, $1,400,000.

EAST HAMPTON

Gounaris to The Nature Conservancy, Swamp Road, $155,000.

Decker to Kathy Flaig, Milina Drive, $157,000.

Smith (referee) to Republic Bank, Wildflower Road, $175,000.

Republic Bank to James Supple, Wildflower Road, $194,500.

Davis to Joan and Donald Rosenzweig, East Way, $260,000.

Canecchia to Gunther and Martha Duy, East Way, $260,000.

Sumi to Diantha and Russell Nype, Wireless Road, $285,000.

JTS Georgica Corp. to Abigail Schutz, Huckleberry Lane, $300,000.

Lewin to Lesley Hoheb and Edward Godwin, Sulkey Circle, $310,000.

New Sunshine Realty Ltd. to Beth Volin, Close Street, $325,000.

Wunderlich to George Balasses, Outlook Avenue, $368,500.

Homes by Arbia Ltd. to Sam Panish, Dongan Way, $410,000.

Silberkleit to John and Anne Oliver, Clover Leaf Lane, $500,000.

Schutz to Norman and Barbara Della Joio, Huckleberry Lane, $550,000.

Chester to Philip Silverman, Montauk Highway, $206,500.

Scheerer to Vincent Falcone and Kerry Gibson, Toilsome Lane, $257,000.

Brown to Charlotte Castantine, Toilsome Lane, $267,500.

Hannibal to Paul Schenly, Pantigo Road, $400,000.

Dana to Cheryl Minikes, Georgica Road, $1,499,500.

Evan Frankel Foundation to Berry and Eileen Blau, Further Lane, $3,600,000.

MONTAUK

Knapp to Paul and Paulette Davis and Rosemarie and John Sciales, Startop Drive, $150,000.

Carlino to Lola Cooper, Cedar Street, $325,000.

NORTH HAVEN

Walsh to Mark and Lynndel Cassin, Sunset Road, $247,500.

NOYAC

Medick to John and Patricia Comer, Whitney Road, $350,000.

SAG HARBOR

Eastate of Ward to Paul Schaefer, Carroll Street, $141,000.

Burns to Glenn and Ross Frankel, Mt. Misery Drive, $177,500.

Skowronski to Erika Duncan, Hampton Street, $175,000.

Whalers Cleaners to Hamptons Commercial Property Inc., Main Street, $1,256,900.

WAINSCOTT

Guhman to Edward Quimby, Greenleaf Lane, $165,000.

Trias to Ellen Dolan, Roxbury Lane, $290,000.

WATER MILL

Source One Group Ltd. to Lisa and Glenn Sands, Grace Court, $400,000.

Bridgehampton Homes Inc. to Iris Segal, Pheasant Cove Court, $499,000.

Esposito to Peri Curnin, Deerfield Road, $725,000.

SPRINGS

Hess to John and Laraine Karl, Pembroke Drive, $151,000.

Leila Duchac, age 11, writes, "I saw in The Star this week your article about a young girl catching a 30-pound striped bass by the Surfside Inn. I just wanted to say that I am that young girl, and the fish was 44 pounds."

The picture Leila included with her letter shows her holding a fish (with a little help) as long as she is, and she's smiling.

"Oh, don't tell me that," said Joe Gaviola, one of the organizers and contestants in the ongoing Montauk Locals surfcasting tournament. With some of the most experienced surfcasters on the coast competing, the largest fish caught in the tournament so far weighed 33-and-a-half pounds. Leila is not in the contest, although there is a children's division.

Mammoth Blues

As for the contest itself, there has been no change in the standings, Mr. Gaviola said, due to slim pickings since the weekend, when there was very productive but not record-breaking bass fishing all along Montauk's north coast. He credited the paucity of fish in recent days to very low tides. There was still a great deal of bait fish about, he said, and predicted more productive casting in the week to come.

Dave Marcley of Montauk is said to have hooked up a pair of 25-pound bass fishing on Montauk's south shore, although the location probably could not be learned without the application of torture.

Around Gaviola's Market in Montauk one also hears tell of mammoth bluefish in Fort Pond Bay. Blues up to 20 pounds were taken from the beach during the week. Richard Berkley of Amagansett, armed only with a fly rod, found a monster blue close to the beach on Napeague.

Hot Bass Fishing

"I cast a medium-size white deceiver fly into the melee of bunker and sardines committing suicide, beaching themselves," Mr. Berkley said. "I was sure that keeper bass were the villains. Before I even began stripping the fly back, a huge boil appeared and inhaled the offering." Mr. Berkley said that 20 minutes later and 100 yards down the beach he caught a 16-and-a-half-pound bluefish, his largest ever on a fly.

From the boats, bassing has continued hot, although the size of individual fish has gotten smaller, and the bluefish have moved in. Last week 30-pound bass were not uncommon, and Capt. Michael Potts of the Blue Fin IV reported attracting a couple that size with live eels. Captain Potts said he expected larger bass to return.

To the west along ocean beaches, "there are 10 billion bass and bluefish from Atlantic Avenue, Amagansett, to White Sands on Napeague," said Harvey Bennett of the Tackle Shop at Skimhampton.

Quiet Bays, Offshore

The bay was quieter, he said, even when it came to "coots." This is the time of year that Mr. Bennett takes charter customers out on his "cast and blast" trips during which he pulls out the light tackle for bass and bluefish, and the light infantry for sea scoters.

The offshore action has about ceased, although on Friday the charter boat Reel Nice came back to Montauk with a 300-pound mako. There are still blue sharks around.

The short opening of both the large and school-size bluefin tuna fisheries over the weekend bore no fruit locally, although a few larger fish were said to have been caught off Nantucket.

The unsolicited Newsday packets delivered each week in East Hampton and elsewhere on Long Island will be a bit more difficult to deliver from now on, courtesy of a state appeals court ruling.

The case in question involved a Jericho man who sued Distribution Systems of America Inc., the Newsday subsidiary that dropped off unwanted free material in his yard. Newsday countered that distribution of editorial material was protected by the First Amendment.

The company has said it would cease deliveries to anyone who objects, but many have complained the packets continue to be hurled onto their lawns and driveways despite their pleas.

To Appeal Ruling

The Appellate Division upheld a ruling that property owners had the right to keep trespassers and unwanted materials off their property.

"I'm delighted," said Town Supervisor Cathy Lester, who said she has had a continuing debate with Newsday about the issue. Ms. Lester said she had been warned the company would sue if the Town Board took steps, as it has contemplated, to limit distribution.

Newsday is expected to appeal the recent ruling on the grounds that it represents an untoward restraint on the right to free speech.

A spokeswoman for the company, Elizabeth Drewry, a vice president in charge of employee, labor, and public affairs, said delivery people are instructed to pick up packets if they remain in a driveway for a week and to stop servicing that address afterward.

"We're not going to be put in the position of paying a penalty if someone makes a mistake," she said.

Local Law?

East Hampton Town Attorney Robert Savage said the town might take advantage of the ruling to urge residents to inform Newsday they do not want the distributed material.

"We could pass a local law. That way, if there had been notice, and they don't cease, they would be in violation," he said.

Mr. Savage said he had discussed the matter with a Newsday attorney, who told him the company had a constitutional right to deliver.

"That doesn't give them a right to litter," said Mr. Savage. Town officials have complained many of the unclaimed packets become trash in the street.

Complaints

Mr. Savage has suggested the town provide mail-in forms for the use of those wishing to cancel the service, which they could send to Newsday. If those residents continued to receive the material, the theory runs, Newsday could be held responsible.

Peter Hammerle, a Town Board member, said he would support such an initiative.

"I'd like to see them out of here altogether, and whatever we could do I'd like to do," said Mr. Hammerle. He said he was "not aware of anyone who wants [the packets]."

The Councilman said he had received complaints from an Amagansett neighborhood last week. "I heard they just threw them in the middle of the road."

Coupons Within

Ms. Drewry acknowledged there were problems with the system, but contended that many people want to receive the free distributions for the cents-off supermarket coupons they contain. "We want those people who want them to get them," she said.

"We work hard to clean up our routes," Ms. Drewry added. "We don't want people to be upset with us." She pointed out that there was a phone number printed on each delivery bag to call and cancel the service.

"We have a good mechanism in place now and a good manager to oversee the system," said the Newsday spokeswoman. "It's a beautiful area out there. All we are saying is, we want to work with you and we want you to work with us."

The East Hampton Town Board is expected to vote tomorrow on its proposed "superstore law," which would cap supermarkets at 25,000 square feet and allow them only in central business zones. A&P has proposed a 34,878-square-foot store on a Pantigo Road site now zoned for "neighborhood business" use.

The owners of the Newtown Lane building housing the existing A&P said yesterday there was no truth to the rumor that the supermarket's lease may not be renewed.

A&P has four more years remaining on its lease with Norman and Roberta Lowenstein of Boca Raton, Fla. Mr. Lowenstein said yesterday the supermarket will "have every opportunity to negotiate a new lease," if plans for a bigger store at the former Stern's site fall through.

In the swirl of publicity and public debate over the plans, the issue of A&P's lease on Newtown Lane has been raised. Some following the proposal have speculated the supermarket's lease may not be up for renewal when it expires - hence the push for a new store.

But Mr. Lowenstein, contacted in Florida yesterday, said there was "absolutely no basis" for the assumption. "They have four years left," he said. "They have plenty of time to negotiate a lease with us and we have no problem with that." If the plans for a new store fall through, he said, "I would expect to see them stay."

Tomorrow's Town Board meeting begins at 10 a.m. at Town Hall.

The East Hampton Trails Preservation Society has scheduled a hike to see the seals at Montauk Point State Park on Sunday beginning at 8:30 a.m. Mike Bottini will lead the pack on a new route. The early start is necessary to catch the right tide for seal watching. Hikers are asked to meet at the Camp Hero housing road one mile east of the Deep Hollow Ranch.

A cruise for bald eagles on Saturday will be the first in a series of seasonal birding cruises hosted by the Cornell Cooperative Extension Service's Marine Program. John Turner, an author and educator, will guide birders across Long Island Sound and up the Connecticut River to look for bald eagles. Those who toured the same region on March 1 observed mature eagles, red-tailed hawks, and several species of sea ducks.

Seeking Salamanders

The 100-foot Sunbeam Express is scheduled to leave Kokomo's Dock in Greenport for Connecticut at 10 a.m. and return at about 2 p.m. The cost is $30 for adults and $15 for children 12 and under. Advance registration and payment are required by calling Cooperative Extension in Southold.

Tonight the South Fork Natural History Society will search for the spotted salamander, a gentle black amphibian with yellow dots, in Montauk beginning at 7:30 p.m. Those interested are asked to call the society's Natureline in Amagansett to learn the meeting place.

The society is also offering, on Saturday, its second offshore birding trip to Block Canyon from Montauk Harbor aboard a 100-foot vessel. For time and meeting place, the society asks bird ers to contact its Amagansett of fic es.

A trek through Northwest Woods is the next hiking adventure to be offered by the Group for the South Fork. The walk is scheduled for Saturday from 10 a.m. until noon. Vikki Hilles, the guide, will instruct hikers on how to identify evidence of wildlife. Hikers are asked to call the headquarters in Bridgehampton to learn the meeting place.

A workshop on getting started in backyard bird feeding, with suggestions on how to fend off squirrels, is scheduled for Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Wild Bird Crossing shop in Bridgehampton Commons. The course is free, but reservations with the shop are required.