By Freddie Zamora

Another fraternity finds itself in the center of controversy again, as members of Northeastern’s oldest Greek organization fight to keep their house in Jamaica Plain.

Nineteen Ackley Place is zoned by the city of Boston as a three-family house, and the city’s Inspectional Services Department says the building is illegally being used as a fraternity house.

According to city officials, the members of Alpha Kappa Sigma moved into the building on May 5, 2002, but failed to obtain a permit to house a fraternity at the address.

The residents of the Jamaica Plain home maintain that it is not a fraternity house, but that they are all NU students who happen to be in the same fraternity. Repeated requests for interviews with fraternity members via phone and e-mail by The Northeastern News staff were refused.

On July 17, 2002 the members of the 86-year-old fraternity living in the building received a letter from Inspector James Kennedy of the Inspectional Services of Boston notifying them that they were in violation of the Boston Zoning Code, Chapter 665, Article 50 Section 26 Table B. That portion of the code states “All dormitories and fraternities are forbidden in a [a three-family dwelling] Zone … they must apply forthwith to this department and secure a permit to change the occupancy from a three-family dwelling to a dormitory or return the building to its legal occupancy forthwith.” The fraternity failed to obtain such a permit, according to Inspectional Services.

In a letter written Sept. 27, Jeff Doggett, the assistant director of Government Relations and Community Affairs, and Todd Shaver, the director of Student Activities, responded to Kennedy. Doggett and Shaver state that Alpha Kappa Sigma was, “On suspension and/or probation for Greek Constitution infractions dating back to fall quarter 2000.