Portal Connecting NYC and Dublin Shut Down Over ‘Inappropriate Behavior’

In one instance, a person even shared pictures of the twin tower attack to people in New York City.

Niall Carson/PA via AP
People at Dublin view the live stream portal between Dublin and New York on Monday May 13, 2024. Niall Carson/PA via AP

Nearly a week after its public unveiling, a 24/7 video livestream art installation connecting New York City and Dublin, Ireland, has been temporarily shut down after people began to flash each other.

According to a statement from the Flatiron NoMad Partnership, teams in both cities are working to address instances of inappropriate behavior that have occurred on both sides of the massive circular livestream portals since their opening, USA Today reports.

“Instances of inappropriate behavior have come from a very small minority of Portal visitors and have been amplified on social media,” a Flatiron NoMad Partnership representative said.

Despite having 24/7 on-site security and barriers in New York, the installation has faced challenges in maintaining appropriate conduct. In one instance, a person even shared pictures of the twin tower attack to people in New York City.

The two identical portals, which connected the two cities separated by an ocean and more than 3,000 miles, provided a continuous live video link. The New York City portal is located in Manhattan’s Flatiron District, while Dublin’s portal is situated near O’Connell Street, the city’s main thoroughfare.

The Flatiron NoMad Partnership announced via an Instagram Story post that the portals would be shut down for a few days starting Tuesday at 5 p.m. New York time/10 p.m. Dublin time. The installations are expected to be operational again “by the end of this week.”

The portals are scheduled to run through the fall of this year, as stated in a May 8 press release from the Flatiron NoMad Partnership.

The organization behind the installations, Portals.org, previously established similar portals in Vilnius, Lithuania, and Lublin, Poland, in May 2021. The initial project was funded by Benediktas Gylys, a Lithuanian artist, author, and entrepreneur, with local groups collaborating on the installations.


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