This is public?

I had always believed the West Market Square to be a public place, open to peaceful congregation — “loitering” — of all sorts for all people, even suspect-looking youths engaging in such potentially felonious activities as Hacky Sack, whether or not passersby and merchants appreciate their presence (or would appreciate even more the relocation of said youths to the sterile, inconvenient, sun-baked grounds of Pickering Square). Obviously, my definition of “public” is wrong. Brandon Keim Bangor