Dublin portal 'reawakened' with new security measures in place

The portal's livestream was shut down on Tuesday night, but has been reopened with measures to manage crowds. Picture: Sam Boal/Collins Photos

The now world-famous Dublin to New York portal has reopened, with new security measures to protect both sides of the Atlantic from antisocial behaviour.

In the space of a week, the facility made headlines across the globe after drunken Dubliners and New York OnlyFans models taunted each other over the livestream.

The portal was hailed upon its opening as providing a live snapshot of life in the two cities, but soon become marred by inappropriate and provocative incidents.

The final straw came when one person in Dublin brought his mobile phone up to the portal and displayed an image of the 9/11 Twin Towers attack to New York. The move caused outrage in America and was discussed on chat shows across the US.

The livestream was shut down on Tuesday night. However, officials on both sides of the Atlantic have now reopened it with enhanced measures to help bring out the best in the public.

A joint statement from Dublin City Council, Portals.org, and the Flatiron NoMad Partnership confirmed that the portal “has reawakened”.

It added: “The livestream restarted today at 9am in New York City and 2pm in Dublin, after a temporary pause earlier this week.

The portal will have specific hours of operation for the coming weeks, with the livestream running daily from 6am to 4pm in New York City and 11am to 9pm in Dublin

Less than one week into its operation, the portal’s live stream attracted thousands of visitors and nearly 2bn online impressions.

The statement said: “The overwhelming majority of people who have visited the portal sculptures have experienced the sense of joy and connectedness that these works of public art invite people to have."

However, the public has been warned that "the portal sculptures are not meant to be touched or stepped upon".

It said: “We have taken steps to limit instances of people stepping on the portal and holding phones up to the camera lens.

“The Portals.org team has implemented a proximity-based solution. Now, if individuals step on the portal and obstruct the camera, it will trigger a blurring of the livestream for everyone on both sides of the Atlantic.

“The team will continue making updates as needed to ensure that everyone can continue to enjoy the portal”.

Meanwhile, the New York site is continuing to have on-site security during all hours of operation, as it has had since the portal debuted.

Fencing has been installed in front of the New York portal and more signage and spacing decals have been added to assist with crowd management and guide visitors to the optimal spots for interaction.

For the Dublin site, physical design features are being implemented to assist with crowd management.