Following “inappropriate behaviour” in the Irish capital, a livestream portal between Dublin and New York was momentarily shut down.
The two-way gateway, which enables communication and observation between individuals on either side, has received thousands of visits.
However, Dublin City Council has stated that a small number of people have behaved “inappropriately” despite the fact that there have been many positive moments, such as Irish dance and even a proposal.
Social media videos have surfaced of individuals on the Irish side flashing bodily parts, putting pictures of 9/11 on their phones, and using profanity.
Police also had to carry a woman who had been observed grinding against the portal away.
Dublin City Council said in a statement on Monday night that “technical solutions” to deal with this are being put into place within the next 24 hours.
“We will continue to monitor the situation over the coming days with our partners in New York to ensure that Portals continue to deliver a positive experience for both cities and the world,” they stated.
“Work is still being done to improve the software for greater reliability and to get ready for Portals to spread to more areas on Earth by the team at portals.org and its partners.
“Those works are being done mostly at night and during those hours, the livestream might be paused.”
The Dublin City Council said that since the north Dublin Portal facing O’Connell Street was unveiled, there has been a rise in foot traffic. The bustling Manhattan intersection of Broadway, Fifth Avenue, and 23rd Street is home to the New York portal.
“The overwhelming majority of interactions are positive,” the spokesperson 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 behavior.”
The Portals Organization said: “We do not intend to suggest people to interact with Portals in any particular way – our goal is to open a window between far away places and cultures that allows people to interact freely with one another.
“Work is still being done to improve the software for greater reliability and to get ready for Portals to spread to more areas on Earth by the team at portals.org and its partners.
“Those works are being done mostly at night and during those hours, the livestream might be paused.”
The Dublin City Council said that since the north Dublin Portal facing O’Connell Street was unveiled, there has been a rise in foot traffic. The bustling Manhattan intersection of Broadway, Fifth Avenue, and 23rd Street is home to the New York portal.
“We encourage people to be respectful and from our position as observers, we see that the absolute majority of experiences is on the bright side.”
They acknowledged that the livestream had been stopped in order to “update the software used on the Portal” in a previous statement.
