No, the N.Y.C.-Dublin Portal Is Not Permanently Shut Down — Here's Why It Was Temporarily Suspended

The portal installation that connects New York City with Dublin will be temporarily suspended due to "inappropriate behavior"

The live video portal connecting New York City with Dublin will be temporarily suspended this week to implement technology changes due to “inappropriate behavior." 

In a statement to the Irish Independent, the Dublin City Council confirmed that the work would be done mostly overnight on Tuesday, May 14. They noted that while an “overwhelming majority of interactions are positive,” certain incidents of inappropriate images and behavior have gone viral across social media.

"While we cannot control all of these actions, we are implementing some technical solutions to address this and these will go live in the next 24 hours,” the Dublin City Council said in the statement. “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.”

The organization that created the portals confirmed that the livestream between the two cities would be temporarily paused on Tuesday afternoon so the company can begin "implementing technical solutions to address this," per the Irish Independent.  ABC7NY reported that the portal will likely be back up and running by the end of the week.

The portal makers also noted, “We do not intend to suggest people to interact with portals in any particular way - our goal is to open a window between faraway places and cultures that allows people to interact freely with one another."

“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," their statement continued, per the publication.

“This is why we can’t have nice things,” N.Y.C. Council Member Erik Bottcher, who represents the Flatiron District and is a member of the Council’s Irish Caucus, tells PEOPLE. "As much as we appreciate the Irish spirit of fun, we can't have shamrocks and shenanigans taking over our live stream. Let's keep it classy, folks!”

The art installations were introduced on May 8 by the organization and offer a two-way livestream between Manhattan and Dublin’s popular O’Connell Street that allows people to interact with onlookers from the other side, according to an official statement from the Dublin City Council.

Since it was installed, wholesome moments, including one TikTok user in New York City sharing her experience reuniting with her high school pen pal, who lives in Dublin, have transpired since the portal opened.

The portals organization has put up the installations in other cities since 2021, and aims to be a “bridge to a united planet.” Per their website, they plan to announce a new portal in another undisclosed city soon.

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