Tenant activist Michael A. Turk said he believes that the alterations on the directory board constitute attempts by Harvard to give itself justification for claims that it was unaware the apartments were being used commercially.

"It has aspects of cover up," Turk said. "It is an effort to cover up what has happened, to cover up the violation."

After Harvard filed eviction papers with the Cambridge Rent Control Board, Ferranti-Dege filed a petition for a permit to remove apartment 209 from the city's stringent rent-control restrictions. Such a permit would allow the unit to be used for commercial purposes.

An Attorney for Ferranti-Dege said that the store is trying to transfer the rent-controlled status of apartment 209 to an apartment at 8 Plympton St., another Harvard-owned apartment building. The camera shop moved from 8 Plympton where it was using apartment space as an office upstairs from the store.

The store's counsel said that because the old office was exempt from rent control, Ferranti-Dege hopes to transfer the rent control status of its 1306 Mass. Ave. apartment to its old one at its previous location.

But that move has come under attack by Turk, a member of the Cambridge Rent Control Coalition. Turk yesterday filed a petition with the Rent Control Board stating that Ferranti-Dege's request to remove its unit from rent control should be dismissed.