CBS2 Exclusive: Climber Claims He Scaled Triborough Bridge, Posts Pictures
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – It's happened again, another New York City bridge breached.
As CBS2's Alice Gainer reported, at least three men claim they scaled the part of the Triborough Bridge, also known as the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge, that connects Manhattan to the Bronx for about an hour and a half.
The trio posted photos on AnimalNewYork.com that appear to have been taken from the top 210 feet above the Harlem River, and even inside the room containing the bridge's mechanical system. One even poses while wearing a welder's uniform left behind.
"I'm kind of just a public structures enthusiast," one climber said.
Gainer spoke to one of the climbers, who did not want to be identified, who described the climb which happened late at night under the cloak of darkness.
"There's a walkway up there and from there we climbed from girder to girder up to the, I wouldn't call it a control room, it's more like a gear wearhouse," he said.
The climbers said the gear room was locked, but a device to open the door was nearby and they had no trouble getting in.
He did not express concern about police or security cameras.
"There's a toll booth up on the other side, there's a NYPD boatyard underneath. You'd be surprised how very little people look up," he said.
The climber said he's climbed every city bridge with the exception of the Brooklyn Bridge.
Last year, in two separate incidents, people climbed the Brooklyn Bridge. During one of the climbs, the American flag was replaced with a white-washed version.
Word of last week's climb has people troubled.
"I'm thinking maybe terrorist plots would be easy to put explosive down there," one woman said.
"I blame the city that it's easy to get up there," another told CBS2.
Security expert Manny Gomez – formerly of the NYPD and the FBI -- said like the Brooklyn Bridge incident, the incident at the Triborough Bridge raises a red flag.
"How can we prevent it? How do we stop it?" said Gomez, of MT Security Services. "The key to good security, though, is to be proactive, not reactive."
But the climber insists there is nothing sinister about their intentions.
"You take only pictures and you leave only footprints. We're not thieves or anything like that," he said.
And while this wasn't his first climb, he said it also won't be his last.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority would only say the incident is under investigation.
