REVEALED: Dublin-New York portal shuts down again, with New Yorkers feeling 'disrespected'

People in New York have reacted to the behaviour of those on the Dublin side of the ‘global phenomenon’ interactive portal installation. 

The world-famous portal which illuminates Dublin’s O’Connell Street and North Earl Street directly into Manhattan was temporarily paused for the second time this Tuesday, following more improper behaviour was reported from both sides.

Some New Yorkers have said that they feel ‘pretty disrespected’ by the behaviour of some people in Dublin, in particular, those who have been displaying footage of the 9/11 disaster. 

“It’s New York and Dublin - some crazy things are going to happen,” one person said. 

When asked if those in Dublin should ‘tone down’ their antics, they responded: “Maybe a little bit - we don’t want Dublin to get a bad reputation here.”

Another said that showing the likes of the burning Twin Towers crumbling to the ground was ‘rubbing salt in the wound’ for many. 

These reactions come after Lithuanian artist, founder of The Portal and entrepreneur, Benediktas Gylys, says there should be ‘limits’ and that people should be aware that children could be present. 

“I am all in for having fun but also, we have families coming close to The Portal, so there needs to be some boundaries,” he said.

Blurred technology has been trialled but has caused technical difficulties. In New York, security guards and barricades have been implemented in attempts to defer inappropriate behaviour, but in one particular instance, it failed. 

“Recently there was a female who, apparently, has an Only Fans page, and she was here [in New York] and flashed her breasts,” a security man said.

Additionally, multiple TikToks of people taking drugs and showing Nazi images and pornography have been circulated online. 

Despite this, Dublin City Council have called for the ‘groundbreaking’ portal to reopen, as they vow to have the way it has been operating to change. 

“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. 

“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 said.

However, Dublin City Council has not specified what technical changes will be made.