March 4, 1984

THREE years ago Ben Heller, a wealthy New York art dealer, paid $265,000 for about two and a half acres of prime undeveloped shorefront property in East Hampton. The site offered a magnificent view of Georgica Pond, and Mr. Heller and his wife, part-time residents of the area for 30 years, planned to build a new vacation home overlooking the water. Two of their prospective neighbors, Raymond and Nicole Bigar, were casual friends of the Hellers. The two couples had known each other for 25 years, and their children had grown up together. But when the Bigars realized that Mr. Heller planned to build a large house as soon as possible on the adjoining parcel, they grew alarmed. They and some other neighbors expressed concern that any additional development near Georgica might harm the pond's relatively pristine water and disturb the area's open-space character.

The Knicks, who thrived by the jump shot in the first half, lost to the Milwaukee Bucks last night when the jumper failed them in the second half, particularly in the final 2 minutes. In losing, 111-106, at Madison Square Garden, the Knicks failed to protect a 104-98 lead from Sidney Moncrief and his teammates. While the Knicks were missing from the outside, the Bucks scored 12 straight points, 4 by Moncrief, who had 12 in the final period and 33 in the game as he shot 11 for 15. It was the Knicks' fourth loss in five games this season to the Central Division pacesetters.

Senior Reagan Administration officials said today that remarks by the new Soviet leader, Konstantin U. Chernenko, seemed to reflect increased interest in exploring President Reagan's call for a more constructive dialogue. The officials said a high-level review was under way on whether the United States should take any new initiatives toward Moscow in the near future. Arthur A. Hartman, the Ambassador to the Soviet Union, was recalled for the discussions, and Mr. Chernenko's comments, calling for ''real actions'' by Washington instead of just words, ''obviously will be taken account of,'' one official said. Mr. Chernenko's nationally televised address Friday was the most substantive and extensive he has made since he took power as the General Secretary of the Communist Party last month upon the death of Yuri V. Andropov. The address was studied carefully by policy makers and intelligence analysts on Friday and this morning.

T HE GARF was making a house call. It was midafternoon one day in late February and Howard Garfinkel, known generally as The Garf - age 54, black thinning hair combed flat on his head in the manner of a 1940's matinee idol, wearing glasses and blue sport jacket and red tie but no coat on this wintry day - had been picked up in a car by a companion from Garfinkel's apartment in Manhattan and they drove to a private school in Brooklyn. Garfinkel had been called on the telephone by the basketball coach of the visiting team and asked to take a look at one of his players, a 6-foot-6-inch senior who, the coach believed, had big- time basketball potential. This was the the team's last game of the season.

At the top of the stretch, it was clear that the spell was broken, that the undefeated and untested sensation named Devil's Bag had been tested and had failed. An eighth of a mile later, Time for a Change held off Dr. Carter to win the $365,000 Flamingo Stakes by a neck, with a 46-1 shot named Rexson's Hope passing Devil's Bag for third place, six lengths behind the leaders. Devil's Bag, the 3-10 favorite and a strong early favorite for the Triple Crown races this spring, had come up empty at the top of the stretch and finished fourth in the field of eight 3-year-olds, seven lengths behind the winner. Time for a Change, who paid $16.60 for $2 to win and covered the mile and an eighth in 1:47 under Jerry Bailey, turned in an excellent performance, as did Dr. Carter, who may have been best but was blocked on the backstretch. But their achievements were overshadowed by Devil's Bag's shocking performance, one that his handlers could not explain.