One Dublin worker has said putting the new Dublin-New York portal near Talbot Street is “asking for trouble”.
The controversial two-way livestream between Dublin and New York reopened earlier today following several accounts of anti-social behaviour.
This included flashing and someone holding a photo of the World Trade Centre on September 11th, 2001, in front of the camera.
Trevor, who has worked on the Luas “across the city” for years, said this is the exact kind of behaviour people should have expected with the portal’s location near Talbot Street.
“The top of Talbot Street, really? You’re asking for trouble,” he told Lunchtime Live.
“If you look at Grafton Street, Dawson Street, that’s not to say that what happened past them hours [wouldn’t happen there as well] - of course it will.
“But if you think about the southside of the city centre, it’s where the Government buildings are, there’s an increased Garda presence.
“Or if you put it closer to the GPO, where there is usually a Garda presence.”
Portal of two-way livestream between Dublin and New York, 14/05/2024. Image: Leah Farrell / © RollingNews.ieTrevor emphasised that this isn’t a “class” issue whatsoever, but about putting the portal where there is increased Garda presence.
“There's a larger, constant police presence because of the infrastructure on the south side of the city,” he said.
The portal in New York
While the portal has become a major issue in Ireland, its counterpart in the US isn’t getting as much attention, according to New Yorker Suzanne.
“The New York Post had the fact that one of the Only Fans [users] in New York City was flashing herself to the portal and that’s the point where they shut it down,” she said.
Dublin City Council has said it will take measures in future to prevent anti-social behaviour at the portal, but has not expanded on what those measures might be.
Listeners speculated this could include using artificial intelligence to blur out obscene images, putting the livestream at a slight delay so inappropriate behaviour can be cut out, or turning off the portal completely at times when indecent behaviour seems most likely.
The last option may be the most difficult, however, considering the five-hour time difference between New York and Dublin.
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