No, the NYC Dublin portal is not permanently closed – here is the reason for the temporary closure

The portal installation connecting New York City to Dublin is temporarily shut down due to “inappropriate behavior.”

The live video portal that connects New York City to Dublin will be temporarily suspended this week due to “inappropriate behavior” to make technical changes.

In a statement to the Irish IndependentDublin City Council confirmed that most of the work would be carried out overnight on Tuesday 14 May. They noted that while an “overwhelming majority of interactions have been positive”, certain incidents involving inappropriate images and behaviour have gone viral on social media.

“While we cannot control all of these measures, we are implementing some technical solutions to counteract this and these will be live in the next 24 hours,” Dublin City Council said in the statement. “We will continue to monitor the situation with our partners in New York over the coming days to ensure the portals continue to provide a positive experience for both cities and the world.”

The organization that created the portals confirmed that the live stream between the two cities would be temporarily suspended on Tuesday afternoon so that the company could begin “implementing technical solutions to resolve the issue.” Irish IndependentABC7NY reported that the portal is expected to be back up and running by the end of the week.

The Portal developers also noted, “We don’t want to suggest that people interact with portals in a particular way. Our goal is to open a window between far-flung places and cultures that allows people to interact freely with each other.”

“We encourage people to be respectful and from our position as observers we see that the vast majority of experiences are positive,” their statement continued.

“This is why we can’t have nice things,” Erik Bottcher, a New York City Council member who represents the Flatiron District and is a member of the City Council’s Irish Caucus, tells PEOPLE. “As much as we appreciate the Irish spirit of fun, we can’t let shamrocks and mischief take over our livestream. Let’s keep it classy, ​​folks!”

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

Since the portal was installed, there have been some happy moments. Among other things, a TikTok user in New York City shared her experience of reuniting with her high school pen pal who lives in Dublin.

The portal organization has been setting up the installations in other cities since 2021 and aims to be a “bridge to a united planet.” According to their website, they plan to announce a new portal in another, as yet unnamed city soon.

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