‘Portal’ linking New York, Dublin by live video paused after lewd behaviour
- A live stream video portal connecting Dublin and New York was meant to bring people in the cities together
- Some people used it to flash naked body parts and display images of New York’s Twin Towers burning on 9/11
![New Yorkers greet people in Dublin via a Portal in Manhattan. Photo: Reuters](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/1020x680/public/d8/images/canvas/2024/05/15/ee8dd555-a488-4c55-b0bb-258405a59cd3_138edc8c.jpg?itok=rJ5LVCOR&v=1715741706)
A video screen “Portal” that lets people in New York and Dublin peer into life on opposite sides of the Atlantic in real time has been a source of whimsical delight for pavement crowds in the two cities, but also a magnet for boorish behaviour that’s prompted officials to hit pause for now.
Exhibit organisers touted the interactive display as a unique way to “embrace the beauty of global interconnectedness”.
“Portals are an invitation to meet people above borders and differences and to experience our world as it really is – united and one,” said Benediktas Gylys, the Lithuanian artist who conceived the installation, when the screens were unveiled to fanfare.
![A Portal in Dublin, Ireland, on Monday. Photo: AP A Portal in Dublin, Ireland, on Monday. Photo: AP](https://img.i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/05/15/9bc80f40-5264-4974-a7a7-6556742c2823_ed2458dc.jpg)
But just days into a run that was to have continued into the fall, the portals were shut down Monday night after videos spread on social media of people behaving badly – from an OnlyFans model in New York baring her breasts to Dubliners holding up swastikas and displaying images of New York’s Twin Towers burning on September 11.
![](https://assets-v2.i-scmp.com/production/_next/static/media/wheel-on-gray.af4a55f9.gif)