Comment on Sidewalk video ‘Portal’ linking New York, Dublin by livestream temporarily paused after lewd antics

By PHILIP MARCELO (Associated Press) NEW YORK (AP) — The 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 sidewalk crowds in the two cities, but also a magnet for boorish behavior that’s prompted officials to hit pause for now. The livestreaming public art installation known as “ The Portal ” made its North American debut on May 8, with a circular screen set up below New York City’s iconic Flatiron Building and a companion screen on Dublin, Ireland’s main thoroughfare, O’Connell Street, with city landmarks including the Spire in the backdrop. Exhibit organizers 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. 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 9/11. The screens, which only broadcast video with no audio, were back up Tuesday morning but were to be powered down again Tuesday evening, according to officials in New York and Dublin. Michael Ryan, a spokesperson for the Dublin City Council, said exhibit organizers are looking into “possible technical solutions” to address the inappropriate behavior.