2 Empire State Building climbers in custody after apparently getting engaged at the top
Two people climbed to the very top of New York City's Empire State Building, unfurled a banner, and then apparently got engaged Wednesday afternoon.
The two have since been arrested.
The NYPD identified them as Ivan Kuznetsov, 32, and Angelina Nikolau, 33, although Kuznetsov's social media page identifies him as Ivan Beerkus. They live in East Orange, New Jersey, and have a history of conducting similar stunts, climbing tall buildings without ropes or other safety equipment.
They face a host of charges, including burglary, reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, violation of local law, possession of burglar's tools, criminal tampering, criminal trespass and disorderly conduct.
The climb
It was a wedding proposal that gripped the city.
It started at around noon Wednesday, when a man and a woman, who could be seen wearing masks, reached the very top of the Empire State Building and unfurled a large black banner with white lettering. There had no visible safety equipment, and clung to the spire by their fingertips.
"When the power of love beats the love of power the world knows peace," the banner read. The quote is often attributed to Jimi Hendrix.
Preliminary information indicates the two got in through a hatch on the 103rd floor used for water tower maintenance, law enforcement sources told CBS News.
The 103rd floor is not open to the public, though the 102nd is. The question is now how they got from 102 to 103, which allowed them to climb all the way to the top of the radio and television transmission tower for local stations.
Shortly after reaching the top and flying the banner, one of the two began to descend, but then made their way back to the top.
They were posting to social media while at the top.
"I just assumed they were allowed up there"
At the start of the incident, other people could be seen milling about on building's observation deck below, as normal.
"They opened the gate and they went up to the top. So somebody said, are you allowed up the top? And he said, the security guard said, no, nobody's allowed up top. But because I'd seen them go up, I just assumed that they were allowed up there," witness Julie Morris said.
Morris said they were not wearing masks when they began their climb up.
"Why would anyone want to propose on the top of a building?" tourist Martin Mulgrew said.
The Mulgrew family was among the tourists on the observation deck.
"We're looking up, enjoying the view again, and they're waving down, just standing there, peering over," Maeve Mulgrew said. "Then coming down to your arrest? They must've really been in love."
The observation deck was later cleared.
The proposal
An NYPD helicopter responded to the scene. At 12:35 p.m., the two began to descend from the top.
Incredibly, once they hit one of the lower platforms on the tower, the man dropped to one knee and appeared to propose to the woman. The two then embraced, the woman removed her mask, and they kissed.
A social media post appears to depict the proposal and its aftermath from Nikolau's point of view.
CBS News New York's Lisa Rozner reported the street below was closed off as the NYPD responded to the scene, including their elite Emergency Services Unit. The NYPD released police bodycam video of the moment officers took them into custody at the top of the building.
The NYPD personnel wore hard hats and utilized other safety equipment as they reached them.
It happened just before 1 p.m. No injuries were reported.
Potential charges could include trespass and reckless endangerment, police sources said.
"Of course, security is amazing, but it's a big concern as someone who works here," said Jessica Kaplan, who works in the iconic building.
Empire State Building on "unauthorized incident"
"The unauthorized incident at the building has been resolved with the constructive and helpful coordination of the NYPD. There was at no time danger to tenants, visitors, and Empire State Building Observation Deck guests," an Empire State Building spokesperson said.
They added, "It is to be emphasized that the Empire State Building Observation Deck, atop the World's Most Famous Building in the center of New York City, does offer a practical way for the most memorable marriage proposals."
To find out more about that, click here.
"There's a lot of danger up there"
"These guys are a little crazy. Climbing up and down that tower, especially in this heat, is very strenuous. It's easy to make mistakes. It doesn't look like they're wearing any harnesses. There's a lot of RF, there's a lot of electrical energy up on that tower," former CBS News New York chief broadcast engineer John Cleary said.
"There's potential for danger up there. It's something that we're trained to do. We go to classes for this ... it's not like you climb rocks. This is a live transmission tower. There's a lot of danger up there."
Cleary discussed how the couple got access.
"That hatch is generally locked. And then, once you get inside, it's called the JJ level, and that's the level righ before there's another hatch that you need a card to open. And I don't know how they got through that one, either," he said.
Empire State Building has previously been climbed
It's not the first time people have climbed the tower. In 2023, actor and singer Jared Leto climbed it to celebrate the launch of 30 Seconds to Mars' 2024 world tour. He did so with permission.
And of course, in the iconic film "King Kong," the eponymous giant ape famously scaled the building.
How tall is the Empire State Building?
The Empire State Building's top floor is 1,250 feet high. Including the transmission tower, the building is 1,454 feet tall.
The winds at the top of the building were southwest at 5-10 mph, and the air temperature while the two were at the top was 89°.
The iconic building is one of the top 10 tallest in the U.S.
