Sigma Pi working to clean up its image
Press Telegram 4/30/07
A recent case of vandalism spurred a neighborhood meeting on April 16 with neighbors and five members of Sigma Pi at Viento Y Agua Gallery.
On the night of St. Patrick's Day, the Cal State Long Beach fraternity turned a group of men away from a party, according to Bela Mogyorody. As the disgruntled group walked away, one of the men allegedly punched a hole in the window of his Viento Y Agua Gallery, near Fourth Street and Termino Avenue.
Although the men were not members of a fraternity, Mogyorody said that the Sigma Pi house brings that element to the neighborhood.
"The kid was underage and very, very drunk. I just wanted my window paid for," he said.
"We're a neighborhood. We all have to live together," Mogyorody said.
The fraternity house, which currently houses 13 of the 84 members, has been at the Fourth Street location since about 1975, said Josh Wootton, chair of the fraternity's neighborhood relations committee.
"We want to have the guys play a positive role in the neighborhood," said Wootton.
In November 2002, a three-year injunction filed in December 2001 began against Sigma Pi. At the time, deputy city attorney Randall Fudge said it was the first nuisance abatement action taken against a Greek house in Long Beach.
The list of complaints in the lawsuit, including excessively loud music, pools of vomit, used condoms, half-empty cups, bottles and cups of alcohol found at the elementary school, bears similarities to the list of complaints neighbors had at the April 16 meeting.
The injunction barred the house members from specific nuisance activities.
It ended on Nov. 20, 2005, and the problems have steadily reappeared, said Rita Dressendorfer, a neighborhood resident for seven years.
Dressendorfer described the Fourth Street neighborhood as a great mix, "just like Long Beach is a great mix."
"There are preschool kids on our street because of the elementary school, and we have two neighbors who have lived there since they have been children and they're in their 80s now," she said.
The complaints neighbors brought up at the meeting included noise control during fraternity events, parking, public sexual activity, loud inappropriate language, beer bottles and cups strewn about the neighborhood, cars racing down the street and the neighborhood being used as a bathroom.
"My husband had to go out and ask some guys to stop urinating on the school," said Michelle Anderson, who has lived across the street from Fremont Elementary since 1993.
"We have people having sex on our front yards," she added.
"I'm willing to work with you guys, but I'm not going to tolerate much because I've been living here since '92," said neighbor Betty Ciuchta.
"I've found women asleep on my bench in the mornings after parties," Ciuchta said.
Wootton admitted the situation has been "slightly out of control," but said the fraternity is willing to do whatever it takes. "It's one of those issues that's difficult to remedy, and we're trying to brainstorm," Wootton said.
During the meeting, fraternity representatives said they would commit to neighborhood cleanups every month and possibly every week, Wootton said.
The first neighborhood cleanup was on April 22, with 35 fraternity members walking the neighborhood and cleaning.
They are also planning to put monthly calendars in the neighbors' mailboxes and hiring private security for any future events, although for the rest of the semester, fraternity leaders have decided there will be no more events at the house, said Sigma Pi president Matt Ginocchio.
"The meeting really helped because it gave (the house members) the perspective of the neighbors. They didn't realize that the small things mattered, too, like where they park," Ginocchio said.
Parking was brought up at the meeting as a safety issue for women who would have to park two blocks away and walk late at night because the fraternity's guests have taken all the closer parking spots.
"We all work and we want to go home to pursue our happiness in our little houses, and we don't want to confront drunk guys in packs," Dressendorfer said.
The neighbors agreed at the meeting that they didn't want to have to take legal action again, but are ready to if the situation does not change.
"We want to give these guys every opportunity to grow up," Mogyorody said.