Dublin-New York portal ‘reawakens’ – with restricted opening hours

By Jonathan McCambridge, PA

A livestream portal between Dublin and New York has been switched on again after it was temporarily shut off following reports of inappropriate behaviour.

The portal will now only be operational during certain hours.

Thousands of people visited the two-way livestream portal which gives a real-time view of New York after it was first opened earlier this month.

The portal is in north Dublin, facing O’Connell Street, while the American installation is in the Flatiron Plaza at the heart of Manhatten.

The portal was temporarily closed in the capital earlier after Dublin City Council said a small minority of people engaged in “inappropriate behaviour” which had been amplified on social media.

In a joint statement on Sunday, the council, Portals.org and Flatiron NoMad said the portal had “reawakened”.

The statement said: “The livestream restarted today at 9am in New York City and 2pm in Dublin, after a temporary pause earlier this week.

“The portal will have specific hours of operation for the coming weeks with the livestream running daily from 6am to 4pm in New York City and 11am to 9pm in Dublin.

“In less than a week of operation, the portal has attracted tens of thousands of visitors and garnered nearly two billion online impressions.

“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 joint statement said the portals are “not meant to be touched or stepped upon”.

It added: “We have taken steps to limit instances of people stepping on the portal and holding phones up to the camera lens.

“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 team will continue making updates as needed to ensure that everyone can continue to enjoy the portal.”

Additional fencing has now been installed in New York and in Dublin “physical design features” are being implemented to assist with crowd management.

After the portal first opened, videos on social media showed some on the Irish side flashing body parts, displaying swear words on phone screens and showing images of the Twin Towers on 9/11.

Another woman was escorted away by gardaí after she was seen grinding against the portal.