A live video “portal” between Dublin and New York has reopened after it was temporarily closed due to “inappropriate behaviour”. The continuous live stream, which allows users in each city to see each other and interact, was switched off on 14 May less than a week after it opened.
A message on the blank screen stated: “Portal is asleep – back up soon.” Incidents, which have been shared extensively across social media platforms, involved users “mooning”, displaying swearwords, and flashing various body parts.
One Dublin user displayed a video of the 9/11 attacks in New York.
‘Sense of joy'
Dublin City Council said the livestream will operate in the coming weeks from 1100 to 2100 local time in Dublin and from 0600 EDT to 1600 EDT in New York. In a statement, the council said the attraction has amassed tens of thousands of visitors and received almost two billion online impressions during its time in operation.
“The overwhelming majority of people who have visited the portal sculptures have experienced the sense of joy and connectedness that these works of public art invite people to have,” the statement said. It also reminded the public that the sculptures are not meant to be touched or stepped on.
“We have taken steps to limit instances of people stepping on the portal and holding phones up to the camera lens,” the statement added.
“The Portals.org team has implemented a proximity-based solution. Now, if individuals step on the portal and obstruct the camera, it will trigger a blurring of the livestream for everyone on both sides of the Atlantic.”
The portal in Dublin was erected just off the junction where North Earl Street runs onto the city's main thoroughfare, O'Connell Street. The New York portal is located on the Flatiron South Public Plaza at Broadway, Fifth Avenue, and 23rd Street, at one of the city's most dynamic intersections.
