Mr Banks, however, is not alone in his opposition to the mayor's square-cleansing.
In July, bailiffs sealed off Parliament Square after the Mayor of London won an eviction order against the expanding camp on the grass.
Ken Livingstone, London's first mayor, partially pedestrianised Trafalgar Square.
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But the opening morning session of the conference, which featured Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter and CEO of mobile payments startup Square, Newark Mayor Cory Booker and venture capitalist Ben Horowitz of A16z felt more like a civics lesson in how technology should be used for the greater good.
The square forms part of the mayor's Connecting Leicester plans to link historic parts of the city with the modern shopping areas.
London Mayor Boris Johnson, who manages the grass square on behalf of its owner, the Queen, sprang into action.
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Lady Gaga performed in Times Square on Saturday night and she was the mayor's special guest, helping him push the Waterford crystal button at 11:59 p.m. that signals the descent of the New Year's Eve ball.
Images of Alfred Hitchcock fleeing from the pigeons on Trafalgar Square, George Orwell installing CCTV cameras and the Mayor of London Boris Johnson polishing the shoes of his predecessor Ken Livingstone are among the tongue-in-cheek caricatures that welcome you.
Mayor MORAN: Well absolutely, they're about the same square footage, if not a bit more, but they have higher ceilings, and they're just much more appealing.
Francis applauded, then gave his blessing after Rome's mayor unveiled the simple white stone plaque marking "Giovanni Paul II Square" in a section of the vast piazza, which often hosts free rock concerts and political and labor rallies.
In the mayor's view, the star seemed a bit star-struck by the festivities in Times Square.
The mayor, Juan Lorenzo Pinera, seems to know most of the people he passes in the town square.
According the Bay Citizen story, Zynga CEO Mark Pincus and CFO David Wehner told Mayor Edwin Lee that unless they get the tax break, they will turn their 270, 000 square foot office into a call center and move their corporate offices and programmers to the Valley.
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