Crowds gathered Tuesday at a PSEG Long Island open house on a proposed power substation in Montauk.

The Montauk substation has been providing power to the East End for a century. But PSEG Long Island says the area's growing electric demand calls for the station to be rebuilt and expanded. The question that many Montauk residents are debating is where its location will be.

Shaun DeJesus lives across the street from one proposed site for the substation along Flamingo Avenue. DeJesus says the land there is ecologically sensitive and contains Native American artifacts, so he and others are rallying against the idea of building it there.

The power utility says a new substation could be built at five possible sites in Montauk, including the Flamingo Avenue location.

At a public meeting Tuesday at Montauk Playhouse Community Center, PSEG showed off other options that include rebuilding the station on its current site, or, what some residents believe is a better solution, putting the substation near the town dump.

PSEG Long Island says it hopes to make a final decision on where the substation could go by the end of the year.