Dublin and New York's two-way portals will close temporarily due to "inappropriate behavior". The visual bridge Dublin and New York will be temporarily closed after incidents of "inappropriate behavior".
Dublin City Council said the live stream connecting the two cities was stopped at 10pm on Tuesday, with plans to restore service later in the week.
A spokesman for Dublin City Council said: "The team behind the Portal art sculpture, Portals.org, has been investigating possible technical solutions to inappropriate behavior by a small minority of people in front of the Portal. Dublin City Council had hoped to have a solution in place today, but unfortunately, the preferred solution, which would have involved blurring, was not satisfactory. The Portals.org team is now investigating other options."
The portals, which were unveiled just a week ago on O'Connell Street in Dublin and Fifth Avenue in New York, have already become the subject of controversy due to explicit content shared widely on social media. Among the contentious footage from the portals are videos of an OnlyFans model in the US disrobing, and a man in Dublin displaying a photo of the moment a United Airlines flight struck the World Trade Centre on September 11th.
The portals set up between Dublin and New York, offering a 24/7 livestream for city dwellers to peek into each other's worlds without audio or recording, have been hit by a series of lewd acts. Dublin City Council has acknowledged the incidents but emphasized that such behaviour is from a minority and has gained undue attention on social media, reports the Irish Mirror .
An OnlyFans model, Ava Louise, boasted on Instagram about getting the Dublin portal closed after exposing herself. She shared footage of her lifting her top to an audience in Dublin, commenting: "I thought the people of Dublin deserved to see my two New York homegrown potatoes."
In another disrespectful act, a man in Dublin displayed a photo of the Twin Towers burning to viewers in New York, while Americans responded with images of potatoes. A TikTok video captured a woman being led away by gardai near O'Connell Street after she was seen grinding against the portal screen.
Liz Linnane, who recorded the incident, described it in the comments, saying: "Basically she was there for about 20 mins very drunk and was slapping and grinding against the portal before guards stepped in."
Another clip shows a Dublin man mooning the New York audience as he dances. Despite these events, social media users have also shared many positive interactions at the portals.
One video illustrates a woman from Dublin proposing to her New York boyfriend, kneeling down and offering him a ring while spectators watch on in surprise and applause. Many of these screens have facilitated heartfelt reunions, broadcasting the affectionate instances when long-distance kin and companions meet each other once again.
Others have turned to the portals seeking romance from afar. Two men in New York came prepared with folding chairs, attempting to woo Irish women by manually spelling out their mobile numbers for all to see.
In an earlier comment, a spokesman for Dublin City Council said the "overwhelming majority of interactions are positive", attributing increased foot traffic at the site between O'Connell Street and North Earl Street to the installation.
The spokesman added: "We have seen families and friends unite, dancing moves being shared as well as new friendships being made. There was even a successful marriage proposal."
"The Portal offers a window to other cities and is connecting people and cultures in a unique manner - what we are seeing between Dublin and NY is reflective of a wider narrative of cultural behaviour. The Portal is for the public to use and we encourage people to enjoy it, interact with it and continue to meet and say hello to people outside of their social circles and cultures."
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