The East Hampton Business Alliance, in an effort to dispel the perception that it is pro-Republican, has appointed two prominent Democrats to its board of directors.

Christopher Kelley, a partner in the law firm Twomey, Latham, Shea, & Kelley, and Randall Parsons, the owner of LandMarks, a development consulting firm, were asked to join the organization and elected to three-year terms on the board at its annual meeting last Thursday at East Hampton Point restaurant.

That same day Mr. Kelley was elected chairman of the East Hampton Town Democratic Party. A longtime political strategist for the party, Mr. Kelley held the chairmanship from 1982 to 1986 and again from 1987 to 1988. The party has been trying to regain its footing since losing control of town government in last year's election.

Perceived As Partisan

Besides Mr. Kelley and Mr. Parsons, whose LandMarks is a development consulting firm, the alliance appointed Bernard Kiembock, the owner of Village Hardware on Newtown Lane in East Hampton, to a one-year term on the board. The business group also named its executive director, Sherry B. Wolfe, president of the board of directors.

The alliance's other directors are Bonnie Krupinski, Arthur Dodge, Robert Denny, Linda Calder, and Debra Lobel.

"The leadership realized, whether it was true or not, that the alliance was perceived to be partisan," said Mr. Kelley. "They want to correct that image by bringing in Democrats."

The alliance's positions have sometimes been "discounted" by town government officials because of that perception, he added.

Alliance's Mission

Mr. Kelley said he hoped his and Mr. Parsons's appointment would help create a better "communications pipeline" between the group and Town Hall.

Ms. Wolfe noted that "the organization's bylaws call for it to be non-partisan," but that its neutral position had become obscured, particularly when James Daly, its former executive director, ran for Supervisor on the Republican ticket last year.

"We're trying very hard to get town government to recognize the business interests in the community," said Ms. Wolfe of the alliance's mission.

"In the '70s and '80s, there was a lot of polarization between those who were pro-environment and those who were pro-growth. You were in one corner or the other," said Mr. Parsons. "It is becoming more collaborative. While there is recognition that there is going to be growth, there is recognition that it should be done well."

From Both Sides

Mr. Parsons, who owned a moving and storage company before serving eight years as Councilman in the late '70s and early '80s, said, "I can see things from both sides." He said it was important for "people who are trying to run businesses out here to get the proper kind of encouragement" from government.

While Mr. Kiembock said the alliance was formed because of a feeling that "government was very insensitive to the businessman's concerns, I don't think it was ever one-sided. It was always a neutral organization."

The group's task now "is to face up to what will happen in the next 10 years or beyond. If we work together, we can manage anything that comes our way," he said. "All input is important."

Mr. Kelley, who said he understands the organization holds lively discussions, added, "I'm looking forward to being an active participant in their debates. I love that."

Malone Steps Down

His hands may be full for the time being with his new duties as Democratic Chairman. His primary assignment is to infuse the organization with enthusiasm and renewed sense of purpose.

Andrew Malone of Sag Harbor, the party's Chairman for five years, stepped down after celebrating his 70th birthday. Mr. Kelley served as vice chairman under Mr. Malone.

The committee also elected Arlene Coulter as vice chairwoman, Dorothy Disken as secretary, and Joan Ford as treasurer.

Mr. Kelley began at once to reorganize the committee, creating new subcommittees and assigning members to chair them. The new Chairman assigned himself to the campaign and fund-raising committees, Margaret Bogosian to newsletter and nominating, Betty Mazur to voter registration, Phyllis Estey to social functions, and Ms. Disken to the appointments committee.

Getting Out The Vote

Edward Reale, Mr. Kelley's law partner, will chair the subcommittee on legislative policy.

According to a press release, the Democrats will work in the time remaining to Election Day to get out the vote for President Clinton, Nora Bredes, the party's Congressional candidate, and Harold Bennett, who is running for East Hampton Town Trustee.

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.

A Republican overhaul of the $3.6 million budget for East Hampton Town's garbage district would reduce Democratic Supervisor Cathy Lester's much-criticized 40-percent hike in the trash tax by about $8 for the average household.

A family with a house valued at $7,000, the average assessment, paid $117 this year and would pay $164 under the Supervisor's budget. The trash tax constitutes more than a 10th of the overall town tax rate.

The recycling plants in East Hampton and Montauk would be closed on Wednesdays.

Councilman Len Bernard has drafted a plan for the Republican majority on the Town Board that would, as promised, do away with the six new Sanitation workers Supervisor Lester hoped to hire, shut the recycling and composting plants on Springs-Fireplace Road and the Montauk transfer station on Wednesdays and additional holidays, and eliminate the job of town recycling coordinator, held by Peter Garnham.

Focus On Hauling

It would also continue to shift the recycling program's focus away from trying to attract the highest price for recyclables - the highly volatile commodities market took a nosedive this year - to paying a carter to haul away the materials, to recycle them or not.

Overall, Mr. Bernard's plan would subtract $187,555 from the Solid Waste Tax District's budget plus "a certain amount of unquantifiable savings from comp time," he said.

"It's not a lot, but you have to look at this as an overall redirection of town government. You have to look at the whole picture," said Mr. Bernard.

Lester Vs. Bernard

The G.O.P. operational overhaul has been sharply criticized by Supervisor Lester as anti-recycling. Mr. Bernard was reportedly infuriated on Friday by a front-page article in The Star that outlined her criticisms and another describing morale problems in the Sanitation Department.

During Tuesday's work session, called so the board could continue to discuss the budget, Ms. Lester told Mr. Bernard she had heard him yelling at David Paolelli, the town environmental facilities manager, from the other side of Town Hall. He said he thought his office door had been closed.

Baling Will Cease

"Your goal is to see the facility not operate. There is no one in the composting plant. There is no one on the tipping floor. You have skeletonized the employee base so much that it is impossible for them to operate," charged the Supervisor, all of which the board's three Republicans denied.

Mr. Paolelli came to the work session to answer board members' questions about the effect of the closings. He and his deputy confirmed that the Sanitation Department had too few workers to bale all the recyclable materials, a process that brings in higher market prices.

Mr. Bernard, Councilman Thomas Knobel, and Councilwoman Nancy McCaffrey, the majority, have said a $400,000 deficit in this year's budget, caused in part by a market downslide, made it necessary to curtail the "inefficient" baling and other unnecessary costs.

With a majority behind it, their plan will be enacted when the board votes on the final budget, which must happen before the Nov. 20 deadline.

A reorganization of other town departments, which would likewise take place when the budget is approved, is the subject of a front-page story this week.

Garnham Will Be Fired

The board is expected to schedule a public hearing on the budget during a meeting tomorrow. The Republicans rejected the demand from Supervisor Lester and her fellow Democrat, Councilman Peter Hammerle, for a separate hearing on closing the dump one day a week.

The two maintained the closing would not only discourage some residents from recycling but also inconvenience businesses that haul their own trash, some of them every day, and the carters and landscapers who also need to use the dump every day.

The Democrats and Mr. Paolelli also urged the Republicans not to fire Mr. Garnham, whom Mr. Paolelli called "an outstanding employee."

Mr. Garnham, hired as the town's first recycling coordinator by the 1994 Town Board over its Republican minority's objections, was "not essential" given the overall cost considerations, said Councilman Bernard, adding that Sanitation officials could take over his duties.

No Surprise

One assignment was to educate business owners, residents, and schoolchildren about the importance of participating in the recycling program.

"We just don't see that as important at this particular point in time," Mr. Bernard said, adding that he hoped instead to revive the Solid Waste Citizens Advisory Committee that was created, met twice, and went dormant several years ago.

Reached last night, Mr. Garnham said he was not surprised to hear his job would be eliminated as of New Year's Day. "I heard a few weeks ago I would be targeted," he said.

He said he had brought in $50,000 in grants in the two years since he was hired, more than half what he has earned in that time ($78,800), and that Mr. Paolelli and his deputy, Eugene Garypie, were already too busy to take over his duties.

New Direction

Besides public education about recycling, they include making mandated reports to the state and county, watching the market for recyclables, and writing grant proposals, he said.

His job aside, Mr. Garnham said the new direction the recycling program was taking was "disturbing" because it left the town "increasingly dependent" on the carters who haul its trash away to private recycling plants, incinerators, or out-of-state landfills.

"The idea was that no matter what happened with the market we would always be better off not being the victim of outside forces," he said.

With an eye toward what could be done on the proposed Paumanok Path, which one day may stretch with few interruptions from Miller Place to Montauk, two East Hampton Trail Preservation Society members, Lee Dion and Ilmar Ratsep, recently hiked the 184-mile length of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, now a national park, which in the mid-1830s ran a losing race with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad toward the Ohio Valley.

The two East Hamptoners trekked along the long-defunct canal's towpath, where mules at one time drew barges of coal bound from Washington, D.C., to points west. One of those points was Harpers Ferry, Va., which lies at the confluence of the Potomac River, along whose north side the canal ran, and the Shenandoah.

"It was a magnificent feat of engineering," Mr. Dion said of the canal on his return. "It's an 800-foot descent from Cumberland [the canal's western terminus, in Maryland] to Washington. There are 75 locks. The lock keepers' houses are still there. The towpath is like a country road. Then, too, you walk over aqueducts, and through [the 3,118-foot-long] Paw Paw Tunnel. When you realize that everything was practically hand-dug, and that it was before electricity, it's pretty amazing."

Pyrrhic Victory

"Most rivers flow north-south," he added, "but the Potomac flows east-west. It gave access to the Ohio Valley and the West."

Near Harpers Ferry, once the site of an armory authorized by President Washington that attracted the interest of John Brown and his abolitionist raiders, and of the Union and Confederate armies, Mr. Dion and Mr. Ratsep visited the Antietam battlefield, where 23,000 died or were wounded in the Civil War, a Pyrrhic victory that stopped Gen. Robert E. Lee's invasion of Maryland and Pennsylvania.

The East Hamptoners averaged about 18 miles a day, often camping in hiker-biker campgrounds provided by the National Park Service, though flood runoff that resulted in wells being disconnected sometimes prompted them to get off the route.

Not Continuous

"We'd like to see similar hiker-biker hostels along the Paumanok Path," said Mr. Dion.

The 100-plus-mile Paumanok trail, he noted, "is not uninterrupted, like the canal. It's about 95 percent complete in the Town of East Hampton. You can walk all the way, with only minor detours, from the East Hampton-Southampton Town border to Montauk Point. In Southampton Town there are big gaps, though we intend to close them in time."

"There's still a lot of work to be done, but we're gaining on it all the time," Mr. Dion added.

The Republican majority on the East Hampton Town Board is unified behind a plan to reorganize Town Hall - even to telling the Town Supervisor that she must move to other - smaller - offices.

On Tuesday, during the board's second session to review Democratic Supervisor Cathy Lester's proposed $29.5 million budget for 1997, the three Republicans, Councilwoman Nancy McCaffrey and Councilmen Len Bernard and Thomas Knobel, described plans to redistribute the work of certain town departments, consolidating some departments and telling others to share resources.

While the changes are not expected to reduce spending, the members of the majority said they would make Town Hall "more efficient." Councilman Knobel said another budget meeting would be needed to assess the effects of the proposals. In addition, Councilman Bernard presented ways to reduce the $5.1 million garbage district budget. That is covered separately.

Major Changes

The plan calls for:

Creating a Town Natural Resources Division, combining the department of that name plus the town shellfish hatchery and sanitation inspector;

Giving the Department of Parks and Recreation responsibility for street lighting, and the maintenance of town buildings and grounds, which are now separate departments, and for public works, which is controlled by the Highway Superintendent acting as Commissioner of Public Works;

Moving the two code enforcement officers, one of whom is yet to be hired, into the office of and under the jurisdiction of the town attorney;

Eliminating the position of recycling information officer, and,

Hiring a full-time personnel director.

Fight Promised

It fell to Councilman Knobel to inform Supervisor Lester that her three-room suite, which is at the front of the building, was to become headquarters for a consolidated legal department. The space will be given to the town attorney, Robert Savage, his two deputies, John Jilnicki and Richard Whalen, two secretaries, and the two enforcement officers.

Incredulous, Supervisor Lester asked him to repeat what he said. Twice.

"Surely this is for political purposes, to embarrass me," she said, calling the idea "ludicrous." She later said that she had "no intention of going anywhere without a fight," and noted that town supervisors had occupied the offices at the eastern entrance of Town Hall since the building was built 30 years ago. Her predecessor, Tony Bullock, expanded the Supervisor's suite by a third when he took over an adjacent space several years ago.

New Lawyer For Z.B.A.

The plan to put all the town's lawyers and its enforcement officers in one place triggered a general and broader discussion of the town's handling of legal affairs.

Mr. Whalen, who is counsel to the Planning Board and the Zoning Board of Appeals, would be relieved of the latter, the Republicans explained, and instead have time to defend the town in some lawsuits. They added $20,000 to the department's budget so an outside lawyer could be retained for the Zoning Board and subtracted the salary of one secretary.

Mr. Whalen's secretary would go with him from the planning and zoning offices at 300 Pantigo Place, just east of Town Hall, and also would work for the code enforcement officers. The merger would eliminate, Mr. Knobel said, the need for two law libraries, one computer, two connections to on-line services, and one secretary, whose desk has been empty for a few months anyway. He added that the three lawyers "support the idea."

Supervisor Lester agreed there was "a need to better apportion the duties of the town attorneys." She said that should mean shifting Mr. Jilnicki to become attorney to the Zoning Board. She suggested later that Mr. Savage, a Republican appointee, also should "pitch in."

Ms. Lester, a Democrat, told the opposition Tuesday that the town had had a good win rate using outside attorneys to defend it against lawsuits and that the practice should not change. It had been that way since 1988, she said, when the Town Board opted "for someone who knows the Town Code and will protect it."

The Republicans, however, repeated their frequent assertion that the town had for years been spending too much on outside lawyers and Councilman Bernard said having Mr. Whalen litigate just a few cases would more than make up for the $20,000 retainer for outside Z.B.A. counsel. The town spent nearly $200,000 through August of this year for attorneys not on the staff and the Supervisor budgeted $175,000 for next year.

Physical Switch

On the switch of physical space between the Supervisor and the attorneys, Mr. Knobel said the present attorneys' space - little more than three small cubicles in a modular building at the rear of Town Hall - would be "more than enough" room for the Supervisor's staff.

He also said the Supervisor had more space than needed - three offices for a secretary, administrative assistant, part-time personnel officer, and herself - and Mr. Savage's staff had too little.

If Ms. Lester refuses to vacate, he added, "then she's putting her own personal comfort ahead of the town, and I don't know what to make of that."

"This is clearly for intimidation purposes, like most of their proposals. People don't expect to come to Town Hall and find the Supervisor in some tiny back room," she said Tuesday night.

Buzzwords

Throughout the afternoon, "eco nomy of scale" was a buzz phrase. In that vein was a proposal to put the data-processing office, made up of two employees who also work for the Assessors, under the senior assessor's supervision.

"Shared resources" was the other often repeated phrase, particularly with regard to forming a Natural Resources Division.

The new division would be in the charge of Larry Penny, natural resources director, and it would place him in a supervisory position over two men who now act independently, James Cavanagh and John Aldred, both of whom had originally worked under Mr. Penny.

Differences

Technically, Mr. Cavanagh is Mr. Penny's deputy but they have not worked with each other for years. Mr. Cavanagh was put in charge of enforcing natural resources and sanitation permits and regulations after registering complaints about Mr. Penny. In that role, which had previously been Mr. Penny's, Mr. Cavanagh works closely with Planning Department and legal and enforcement personnel. A vocal Republican, he would have been assigned full-time to the town attorney's office, if Supervisor Lester's budget had been approved.

Mr. Knobel said he asked both Mr. Penny and Mr. Cavanagh and "they both think it's a good idea," he said. Mr. Cavanagh's line was busy all Tuesday night after being reached for a comment and saying he needed a few minutes to attend to his daughter. He was not at work on Wednesday. Mr. Penny, however, said he thought the plan would work.

"We need each other," he said.

Hatched A Surprise

The Republicans did not consult John Aldred, the hatchery director, before demoting him from a department head to Mr. Penny's deputy. He learned about it Tuesday night from The Star, saying he was "profoundly disappointed."

The next day, Mr. Aldred said he also had "a lot of questions about the future operation of the hatchery - the budget, our agreement with the state, our grants, our employees, decisions about production." He said Councilman Knobel had dredged up an old grievance and that former and current Trustees have coveted control of the hatchery for years. Most recently they have disagreed about an oyster mariculture training project run by Mr. Aldred.

"The people who work here now, myself included but not myself exclusively, have designed, created, and operated the hatchery. And, we have been trying to satisfy the concern of the powers-that-be relating to aquaculture," Mr. Aldred said.

While he praised Mr. Penny for "certain visions," he indicated the natural resources director was unable to "produce."

"Gestapo Manifesto"

Mr. Penny said yesterday that the Trustees needed a water laboratory, and that one could be established at the hatchery or its grow-out facility on Three Mile Harbor. Otherwise, he said, he did not see "any great re-organization there." He added that he expected to bring in money for the hatchery by writing grant proposals.

Supervisor Lester, however, had harsher words for the Natural Resources Division proposal.

"This is about the Gestapo Manifesto. The Republicans and the Trustees want control of the hatchery, just like they want control of the harbormasters. They don't dare abolish the Planning Board so they're going through the back door," she contended.

Interesting Times

The manifesto, which was first drafted by Mr. Knobel and then codified by the Trustees' attorney, John Courtney, attempts to give some of the Z.B.A.'s authority to the Trustees and would put the harbormasters and bay constables under their supervision.

Mr. Knobel, however, insisted the new division was conceived to place all natural resources programs - shellfish propagation, habitat assessment and protection, environmental protection, wildlife management, and more - under one person's supervision. "In-field presence, protection, and enhancement," he called it.

Supervisor Lester's fellow Democrat, Councilman Peter Hammerle, appeared as angry and frustrated as she during Tuesday's meeting. Mr. Knobel, on the other hand, said he was pleased with the outcome.

"So what did you think? Was it interesting?" he asked Paul Fiondella, a friend who has recently been appointed to the Town Citizens Computer Advisory Committee. Mr. Fiondella, who ran unsuccessfully for Town Board two years ago, said it was.

The phenomenon of the "hot" restaurant is as much a part of a Hamptons summer season as fresh corn and parking chaos. But the public is fickle; buzz fades and today's "Sorry, no reservations for a month" is tomorrow's Chapter 11.

Nick and Toni's was the hot restaurant of 1988 and, amazingly, it has remained so ever since. Chance has nothing to do with it, nor have the idiots who go there to see and be seen: If a place maintains a reputation through the years then it's because it's doing things right.

Yes, it's difficult to get a reservation on summer weekends, which has made some people give up on the place, but good food is all the better when it's cold outside, and in winter there is also a good pre-movie special on Fridays and Sundays.

The decor is simple but warm, with a cheerful bar area and a terrazzo-decorated wood-burning oven. The first dining area has rather a lot of traffic trekking through it, but the back room is comfortable, perfectly lighted, and the acoustics are excellent.

Over the years, the front-of-the-house staff have occasionally been a little snippy, but there's a young woman there now who couldn't be more friendly. On Saturday our wait staff were also friendly and helpful, though the service could best be described as leisurely. That was okay; we were having a good time.

There is, of course, an impressive wine list and a good, fairly pricey, selection of wines by the glass. There is also a choice among at least a dozen single malts, tequilas, cognacs, and grappas.

Yes, it's expensive - appetizers from $9 to $12, entrees from $20 (pasta) to $32 - but you get your money's worth. And if you go on Sunday, for brunch or dinner, you can have one of four Tuscan-style pizzas for $16.

The special appetizer of the day was a salad of perfect little green beans and flaky "hot-smoked" salmon, whose flavor was somewhat crushed by the addition of a strong-tasting radicchio.

Taste Of Fall

The green salad, though it might appear a little expensive at $10, was as good as a green salad can get and worth every penny. Also recommended, though it looks rather unimaginative when it arrives, is the antipasto, which included among other things a prosciutto di San Daniele that will make your toes curl up in bliss, a silken breseola, and fine contrasting olives.

The top vote-getter was the polenta, which is made with Morbier cheese and walnuts and is good enough to make you weep (I suspect the calorie count would have made us weep too, if we had known it).

The one appetizer that was judged both overpriced ($12) and dull was the Sicilian stuffed artichoke with sweet onion broth.

The menu on Saturday suggested fall - which seemed appropriate as the temperatures plummeted from the mid-70s on Saturday to below freezing on Sunday - with squash soup and quail and venison and pheasant.

Quail To Venison

The quail, which came with apple and red currant relish and was bursting with herby flavor, was a $12 appetizer, but made a perfectly adequate entree. The large serving of pheasant, with potatoes, turnips, cipolline onions, and green olives, was fine in the flavor department, but a little dry.

We tried one of the pasta dishes - pappardella with a simple meat and tomato sauce. It was light and fresh and a perfect culinary example to all those meat and tomato sauce pasta dishes out there that should be classified under "Offensive Weapons" instead of "Pasta."

But there were two dishes that were really outstanding, that restored the flagging appetite and reduced the diner to respectful silence. One was the superlative medallions of venison with roasted pumpkin and potato parsnip puree.

Special Chicken

The other was sea scallops pan-roasted to a crisp brown with wild mushrooms and a slice of foie gras. Although we had hopes that bay scallops might be on the menu, these weeks being the small window of opportunity for them, they could hardly have improved on this dish, even though it might sound like sacrilege to say so.

As one would have hoped, each entree is prepared with a complementary selection of vegetables.

Given my druthers, I seldom order roast chicken in a restaurant, believing that it can be done just as well if not better at home, but for Nick and Toni's I make an exception - they raise the lowly fowl to a whole new plane of existence.

Although I haven't tried it for a while now, it remains in my mind very clearly: Crisp-skinned and juicy, served with a fine jus and scattered with whole cloves of baked garlic, it is a four-star experience.

The desserts are equally good. Beautifully prepared, they arrived looking like Rosalind Russell's hats in "His Girl Friday." One was a bittersweet flourless chocolate cake with milk chocolate custard and banana fool and the other was an apple cobbler - but what an apple cobbler! - served with caramel ice cream and fragile strips of cinnamon sugar "tuile."

Divine.

Don't be put off by Nick and Toni's chichi reputation; the staff is friendly, the atmosphere is warm, you can hear conversation, and the food is very, very good.

On the Fourth of July, Liu Qing was counting the months until officials of the Department of Immigration and Naturalization Services would hear his request for political asylum.

Mr. Liu, who is 27, made the difficult decision to leave China three years ago. He left behind a respected job, friends, his parents, and his siblings to seek out the political freedom he believed he could never have in his own country.

He was born in China's Fu Zhou province during the country's violent Cultural Revolution, which lasted from 1966 to 1976. The year of his birth was 1969, "the year of Woodstock," he noted last week with an ironic grin.

Jeffersonian Ideals

A poet and high school teacher, Mr. Liu, who had become enamored of the writings of Thomas Jefferson, was criticized for teaching about Jeffersonian ideals of democracy and was called in to the education office in the city of Fu Zhou, where he was working.

In March of 1993, on his first visit to the education office, he was told to change his approach. Over the course of that month, he was asked to return to the office again and again.

He was passed over for a permanent position and watched closely by local authorities. "Once you've done something and they've had to warn you, you have a black mark on your record. It follows you your whole life; you become a virtual prisoner," explained Melinda Rubin, Mr. Liu's immigration attorney.

One In Four

Mr. Liu began to feel he was not living up to his duty as a teacher, his responsibility to tell the truth, if he could not teach what he believed.

One of his professors who had talked about democracy a great deal eventually had to leave China. The man received political asylum in the United States.

Only one in four who apply for political asylum here receive it, Ms. Rubin explained. When Mr. Liu, who lives in Springs, first went to her, however, she felt certain he had a chance.

"He had a good case," she said. "His leaving was not an economic decision. He left everyone and everything. He deserved to live somewhere where he could be free."

What If . . . .

In the months leading up to the crucial interview, Mr. Liu told The Star he felt as if he was waiting to start his life over. He was afraid to plan beyond the interview. What if his request was denied? What would he do if he had to go back to China?

All his planning focused on the day, Sept. 4, when he would tell his story to an immigration officer.

He had gathered his poems printed in a Chinese newspaper, letters from colleagues, former students, friends, and family, and a Star article telling his story and that of another recent immigrant. He got a haircut the day before the interview.

Then, with a friend and his lawyer to support him, he went to the Immigration and Naturalization offices in New York City.

'Why Didn't You Move?"

The interview began with basic questions, Mr. Liu recalled. Why did you leave? How did you get here? Then it moved on to details: When did you get called to the education office? What did the building look like? What happened? Why didn't you move to another city?

When the ordeal was over he was still nervous, but felt confident the interview had gone well.

Two weeks later, he was celebrating a new birthday of sorts. On Sept. 18, he found out his bid for political asylum was successful.

Daniel Liu, Now

"That day was completely different from the day before it. Now I know the direction I can go, now I can make plans," said Mr. Liu. He is saving money and hopes to return to college next year. He has temporary status now and in a year is qualified to apply for permanent residency.

He says he feels extremely lucky, but there is also a sense of loss. With political asylum, he can travel outside the U.S. to anywhere except China. In fact, his new status means he may never be able to return to his native country.

He misses China, but not its politics. Now, he can call himself American, and is proud of that, but he does not want to lose his own cultural identity.

"It's like my name," he said.

When Mr. Liu came to the United States he took the English name Daniel as his own, and that is how most people here know him. "I can be American, but with a Chinese heart," he said.

Need To Hear It

"He's going to make an excellent American. We could use more like him," Ms. Rubin said.

"People here need to hear what he has to say. A lot of young people don't participate in the political process, they don't appreciate it, and here's someone from another country who gave up everything to come here."

"It reaffirms your faith in America," she said. "He risked his life because he thought this kind of liberty was so important."

Sit Down And Talk

East Hampton

October 14, 1996

To The Editor,

I keep reading in different places (e.g., the Oct. 13 New York Daily News) quotes from Jeff Salaway and Toni Ross to the effect that no matter what they do to make their restaurants accessible, the East End Disabilities Group will not be satisfied and will find some reason to demonstrate anyway.

Have Jeff and Toni talked about this with any members of the East End Disabilities Group? We keep sending them letters. I haven't seen an answer yet, or heard of a phone call.

Have they bothered to check out the East End Disabilities Group's record? If they have, they must know that the East End Disabilities Group has yet to demonstrate anywhere. Issues with United Artists were resolved after two days of very restrained leafleting, and the demonstration was called off. Issues with Southampton Hospital were resolved around a conference table.

If Jeff and Toni will sit down and talk instead of spin-doctoring themselves into being the victims in this thing, we can all be happy. They will be obeying the law, and we will all be able to enjoy those delicious fresh tuna sandwiches at the Honest Diner.

Sincerely,

RICHARD ROSENTHAL

An Injustice

East Hampton

October 1996

Dear Editor,

Last Saturday, a disabled friend and I drove into the parking lot of Nick and Toni's at about 10:30 p.m. and saw two cars with no handicapped stickers or handicapped plates parked - of course, where else? - in the two (not three, which they are required by law to have) handicapped spaces. The spaces were marked by signs, but did not have lines or clearly marked unloading zones.

I thought to myself, maybe disabled people don't go out after 10 at night, and that's why those nice people in the fancy cars parked there, because the last disabled folks had already left.

It has been said that for years, scholarly gentlemen would have dinner and drinks at segregated restaurants and discuss the tragedy of racism. I am sure that there were plenty of good, upstanding citizens who went to restricted hotels and didn't say anything to the owners because it was uncomfortable to do so. They wanted to have a nice dinner, a few drinks, and interesting conversation.

I am also sure that after the opening movie of the Film Festival, "Some Mother's Son," a story about the life of Bobby Sands, who fasted to death for the sake of justice, people will go to Nick and Toni's and sit around drinking and eating and spending a lot of money, talking about how great the movie was and how powerful the actors were.

Toni Ross says it is unfortunate that this protest has to happen at the time of the Film Festival. Unfortunate? Getting hit by a car and having to live with the effects of that for the rest of your life - having to put braces on in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom - that is unfortunate.

Needing four hours to get dressed, as does one friend of mine with multiple sclerosis, that is unfortunate. To be invited to meet friends at a place where entry is not possible on one's own, or the bathroom is not accessible, that is more than unfortunate, that is an injustice.

United Artists lost a class action suit and is offering settlements to anyone who was denied access to the movie theater over the last three years. Maybe Jeff and Toni could offer free meals and drinks (at any restaurant) for the next three years for all those folks who were discriminated against.

It seems to me that there is one sure way of resolving this problem of the Honest Diner, Rowdy Hall, and Nick and Toni's. Why don't we do lunch at the Honest Diner? You bring your people, I'll bring mine, and we'll show you exactly what has to be done.

We will bring the Americans With Disabilities Act book and an architect. We will invite the press. Please get in touch with us. We will be glad to meet you at any time. Even after 10 p.m.

Sincerely,

GERRY MOONEY

Mowed To Ground

East Hampton

October 15, 1996

Dear Helen:

We had the most beautiful planting of fall foliage and wildflowers along the side of our road. I say "had" because, this morning, a member of the East Hampton Town Highway Department mowed everything completely to the ground.

I confronted the person doing the mowing, saying that all summer long the mowing people only cleared a swatch along the side of the road, but his reply was that he was told to mow everything in his path, and that if I didn't like it I should call the Highway Department.

When I called, I was told they would look into the matter, but, a short time later, the mower came down the other side of the road, again mowing everything in his sight. The area cleared is the home to wildlife. It now looks like a parking lot.

Sincerely,

LEE WALTER

Deserves Respect

Staten Island

October 3, 1996

To The Editor:

As national media spokesman for American Atheists, I applaud The Star for printing the only editorial in the nation that exhibited journalistic integrity regarding the disappearance of Madalyn Murray-O'Hair, her son, Jon, and her daughter, Robin.

The general media, indeed, seem to be unable to properly distinguish entertainment news from news, and to use her disappearance as a cheap "ratings grabber" demonstrates the lack of ethics which permeates our broadcast media today.

We see that more than ever in the Presidential election coverage. No attention is being paid to the real issues that affect every American.

Instead, the "hot button" non-issues unfortunately remain to be a woman's right to personal reproductive decision-making, and whether or not schoolchildren should participate in specifically choreographed tribal rituals at the beginning of the public school day.

American Atheists and the Murray-O'Hair family have never been given a fair shake by the media, and we do not foresee any change in the media climate in the foreseeable future.

If some member of the priest-class or other supernaturalist suffered the same fate, would the media go out of its way to parody the situation as it has done to Mrs. O'Hair? If some child or other family member inexplicably vanished, would Mr. Tom Brokaw report the story with a "wink and a smile"? If a prominent Christian vanished in a cloud of controversy, would Mr. Brokaw interview an Atheist representative and ask for his or her opinion? I think not.

As you pointed out, she certainly deserves more respect than she has been dealt. The historic 1963 Supreme Court decision of Murray v. Curlett guaranteed every American the right to freedom of religion as well as freedom from religion. This is an important distinction.

But American Atheists will continue to be the voice of those 10 to 13 percent of Americans who label themselves atheists or other free-thinkers. We will continue to fight for the civil rights of those who do not wish to be beholden to the theocratic nonsense of the Christian Coalition and other organized mono-and-polytheist groups who currently have a stranglehold on our governmental system.

Again, I personally thank The Star for making an important contribution to fair and equitable journalism.

Sincerely,

RONALD J. BARRIER

National Media Coordinator

American Atheists Inc.

East Hampton Town Trustees have hired David Gilmartin, a Southampton attorney and authority on colonial patents, to help guide them in their quest to assume a greater role in town government.

Meanwhile, Supervisor Cathy Lester, who has opposed the ancient body's recent effort, continued to blast the Trustees this week, saying their quest was motivated by politics.

The nine-member board voted last week to pay Mr. Gilmartin up to $5,000 to articulate, in legal terms, what they see as their right to administer and enforce laws relating to the use of town waters, underwater lands, beaches, and the structures on them.

Heated Memo

The attorney was hired specifically to answer the question of whether the Trustees have the authority "to oversee and direct the activities of the Town Department of Harbors and Docks [created in 1989] with such department remaining a department of the Town of East Hampton." The department is administered by Bill Taylor, the senior harbormaster.

Mr. Gilmartin is also being asked if harbormasters and bay constables would retain their "protections" as town employees should they fall under the Trustees' direct supervision.

Two weeks ago, the Trustees announced their intention to put town harbormasters and bay constables under their control. It was their "first step" in a broader effort, according to Trustee James McCaffrey.

That step drew a heated memo from Mr. Taylor, in which he cited state law, town economics, police unions, and conflicting jurisdictions to argue against the Trustees' plan.

"The department is not broken, please don't fix it," Mr. Taylor wrote to the Trustees.

Behind the harbormaster-Trustees dust-up and the hiring of Mr. Gilmartin lies the 21-page document the Trustees are humorously calling their "TWERP" (Trustee Waters Environmental Review Permit) ordinance, a tag they say they prefer to the original: "manifesto."

Borrowed From Code

The Trustees' attorney, John Courtney, wrote it, acknowledging that he borrowed wholesale from sections of the existing Town Code, especially the part dealing with the Department of Natural Resources special permit procedure. He is quick to point out that the proposed "Trustee special permit" would be applicable only within areas already under the ancient panel's jurisdiction.

Except in Montauk, where the ancient body lost its jurisdiction in the late 19th century, Trustee approval is now required for waterfront structures and certain activities on the waterfront, on bay and harbor bottoms, and on most beaches.

Municipal boards like the Zoning Board of Appeals do not issue permits for the use of these areas without the consent of the Trustees. The Trustees complain, however, that their consent is too often considered as an afterthought. Rather, it is the appointed members of the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals and the staff of the Natural Resources Department who lead the review of waterfront-related projects.

Behind The Scenes

Mr. Courtney said the Trustees were not trying to substantially change town laws as they relate to the use of town waters, but they - an elected board - did want to be the governmental body that administered them and oversaw their enforcement.

To succeed in their revolution, East Hampton Town Trustees have hired David Gilmartin, a Southampton attorney and authority on colonial patents, to help guide them in their quest to assume a greater role in town government.

Meanwhile, Supervisor Cathy Lester, who has opposed the ancient body's recent effort, continued to blast the Trustees this week, saying their quest was motivated by politics.

The nine-member board voted last week to pay Mr. Gilmartin up to $5,000 to articulate, in legal terms, what they see as their right to administer and enforce laws relating to the use of town waters, underwater lands, beaches, and the structures on them.

Heated Memo

The attorney was hired specifically to answer the question of whether the Trustees have the authority "to oversee and direct the activities of the Town Department of Harbors and Docks [created in 1989] with such department remaining a department of the Town of East Hampton." The department is administered by Bill Taylor, the senior harbormaster.

Mr. Gilmartin is also being asked if harbormasters and bay constables would retain their "protections" as town employees should they fall under the Trustees' direct supervision.

Two weeks ago, the Trustees announced their intention to put town harbormasters and bay constables under their control. It was their "first step" in a broader effort, according to Trustee James McCaffrey.

That step drew a heated memo from Mr. Taylor, in which he cited state law, town economics, police unions, and conflicting jurisdictions to argue against the Trustees' plan.

"The department is not broken, please don't fix it," Mr. Taylor wrote to the Trustees.

Behind the harbormaster-Trustees dust-up and the hiring of Mr. Gilmartin lies the 21-page document the Trustees are humorously calling their "TWERP" (Trustee Waters Environmental Review Permit) ordinance, a tag they say they prefer to the original: "manifesto."

Borrowed From Code

The Trustees' attorney, John Courtney, wrote it, acknowledging that he borrowed wholesale from sections of the existing Town Code, especially the part dealing with the Department of Natural Resources special permit procedure. He is quick to point out that the proposed "Trustee special permit" would be applicable only within areas already under the ancient panel's jurisdiction.

Except in Montauk, where the ancient body lost its jurisdiction in the late 19th century, Trustee approval is now required for waterfront structures and certain activities on the waterfront, on bay and harbor bottoms, and on most beaches.

Municipal boards like the Zoning Board of Appeals do not issue permits for the use of these areas without the consent of the Trustees. The Trustees complain, however, that their consent is too often considered as an afterthought. Rather, it is the appointed members of the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals and the staff of the Natural Resources Department who lead the review of waterfront-related projects.

Behind The Scenes

Mr. Courtney said the Trustees were not trying to substantially change town laws as they relate to the use of town waters, but they - an elected board - did want to be the governmental body that administered them and oversaw their enforcement.

About 33 antique automobiles are to participate Saturday in the Bridge Hampton Historical Society's road rallye, whose loop this year will include roads in Bridgehampton, Sagaponack, Wainscott, East Hampton, Amagansett, Springs, Northwest, and Sag Harbor.

"The route's somewhat longer this year, about 100 miles, I think, and the competition promises to be much better," said Jim Shelly, owner of the Georgica Getty station in East Hampton. Mr. Shelly and his navigator, Steve Cohen, "won two years ago, dropped to third last year, and are looking to get back on top again this year."

The rallye, said Mr. Shelly, "is a time and distance event. It's not a race, but it is a stiff test of how closely your actual times, for the various segments and for the course, match up with the theoretical times you're given at the start. The object is to get as close to the theoretical, or target, times as possible."

Timing Zones

Mr. Shelly presumed that the event's chairman, Jeffrey Vogel, had driven the course numerous times in various traffic conditions to determine the target times, none of which exceed speed limits, but which "will push us," said Mr. Shelly.

The driver-navigator teams must be precise as they drive through the 125-foot-long zones that lead to a rubber timing hose that registers checkpoint times to within one-10th of a second. "You can wait outside the zone, but once you enter it you can't stop," said Mr. Shelly.

How long it takes to cover those final feet at each checkpoint varies with the type of car. Mr. Shelly, who drives a 1953 MG TD, said he uses a 20-second count. Alan Patricof, also of East Hampton, and his navigator, John Horvitz, of Bridgehampton, who practiced Saturday in Mr. Patricof's 1927 air-cooled, wooden frame Franklin 11-B at the Historical Society, were using a 15-second count.

"Talk to me, talk to me," Mr. Patricof said to Mr. Horvitz, who stood nearby counting down the seconds as the former guided the sporty Franklin, with this writer in the passenger seat, toward the timing hose adjacent to a tent where rallye volunteers were being briefed by the rallye's technical chairman, Michael Moody.

Other Local Entries

When, during one turn, Mr. Horvitz hit both buttons at the same time, clearing the watch, Mr. Patricof, who's making his debut in the rallye this year, joked, "I've got to get another navigator."

Besides Mr. Shelly's and Mr. Patricof's entries, there will be, among others, a 1953 Jaguar XK 120 owned by Andrew Benenson of New York City and East Hampton; a 1935 Ford convertible owned by Serge Bellanger of Wainscott; a 1953 MG owned by Leonard Ackerman of East Hampton; a SIATA 208S owned by Daniel Rowen of New York and East Hampton, and a 1934 Ford Deluxe Roadster owned by John Ferrell of Bridgehampton.

The rallye is divided into two classes - Firemen's Carnival Race Vintage, harking back to 1915-21, a period in which East Enders raced annually on Bridgehampton streets at speeds up to 50 miles per hour, and Lions Club Race Vintage, for sportscars, most of whose models would have raced Bridgehampton's streets in the wildly popular, though ultimately dangerous, races that were held there annually between 1949 and 1953.

Only Three Left

According to the rallye program, the oldest entrant this year is Julian MacKay's 1908 Isotta-Fraxhini FE. Mr. MacKay's is "a special grand prix model of which only six were made and only three remain. It first saw competition in the Grand Prix at Dieppe, France, and went on to compete in the U.S. in the 1910s."

The rallye is to begin, with staggered starts, at the Historical Society at 10 a.m. Registration, check-in, and a technical inspection is to take place tomorrow, from 5 to 8 p.m. On Saturday, lunch will be provided to drivers and navigators between laps. The last car is expected to arrive in the Historical Society's paddock at 3. A tire changing competition will be held there at 4:30, to be followed, at 7, with a cocktail hour, dinner, and awards ceremony.