New York-Dublin video link is back up after shutdown for bad behavior

People in both New York and Dublin, Ireland, wave and signal at each other while looking at a livestream view of one another as part of an art installation on the street in New York, Tuesday, May 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

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NEW YORK (AP) — A video link between New York City and Dublin that was shut down due to inappropriate behavior on both sides of the Atlantic has reopened with new security measures.

The open-air video link between the two cities, which opened May 8 and was taken offline last week, reopened Sunday and will operate between the hours of 6 a.m. and 4 p.m. in New York, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. in Dublin.

The Dublin City Council and Manhattan business group Flatiron NoMad Partnership organized the livestreaming public art installation called the "Portal.” They said they have installed more fencing on the New York side and taken steps to prevent people from stepping on the sculpture and holding their phones up to the camera lens.

“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 organizers said in a statement.

The organizers had billed the exhibit as a way to “embrace the beauty of global interconnectedness." It was paused after videos popped up on social media of bad behavior including an OnlyFans model in New York baring her breasts and Dubliners holding up swastikas.

Organizers said their tweaks “will ensure that thousands of Portal fans will enjoy the experience on both sides of the Atlantic.”

The exhibit is scheduled to be up through the fall.

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