Aerial footage<\/a> showed that at midday, the couple, wearing black masks and clothes, holding onto the skyscraper\u2019s antenna\u2014about 1,454 ft (443 m) from the ground\u2014while unfurling a banner that reads: \u201cWhen the power of love beats the love of power, the world knows peace.\u201d<\/p>\n Footage later showed<\/a> one of them going down on one knee, before embracing and kissing.<\/p>\n New York police responded to the incident, as streets below were shut down<\/a>. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch posted on social media<\/a> body camera footage of the NYPD\u2019s Emergency Service Unit responding at about 12:51 p.m. to the climbers. In the footage, one of the responders was heard telling the climbers, \u201cYou can\u2019t be up here,\u201d before apprehending them.<\/p>\n Police personnel respond to a report of two people climbing the spire atop the Empire State Building in New York City, on July 1, 2026. NDZ\/STAR MAX\/IPx 2026<\/p>\n A spokesperson for the Empire State Building told the media that there was \u201cat no time danger to tenants, visitors, and Empire State Building Observation Deck guests.\u201d The building\u2019s social media account also appeared to lean into the incident, posting<\/a> that it offered \u201ca practical way for the most memorable marriage proposals.\u201d<\/p>\n Unclear how the two got there<\/p>\n How Nikolau and Kuznetsov managed to reach the Empire State Building\u2019s antenna is still under investigation. But they have climbed the tops of other buildings before: the 2024 documentary featured them climbing the likes of 1,955-ft (596 m) Goldin Finance 117 in Tianjin, China, and Malaysia’s 2,227-ft (679 m) Merdeka 118. The documentary showed how they bypassed building security before scaling the buildings.<\/p>\n But the top of the Empire State Building is the transmission tower, sending radio and television signals to broadcast stations. John Cleary, a former chief broadcast engineer for CBS New York, told the network in an interview about the potential exposure to high levels of radio-frequency (RF) radiation and electrical energy. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of danger out there,\u201d he said<\/a>.<\/p>\n CBS News<\/a> reported, citing unnamed law enforcement sources, that, based on preliminary information, the two climbed the spire after going through a hatch on the 103rd floor, which is not open to the public. That floor is used for water tower maintenance.<\/p>\n The couple, who reside in East Orange, N.J., were hit with several charges following the stunt, including burglary, reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, possession of burglar’s tools, criminal tampering, criminal trespass and disorderly conduct, a spokesperson for the NYPD said.<\/p>\n A history of being climbed<\/p>\n For decades until the early 1970s, the Art Deco tower was the tallest building in the world. The highest floor open to the general public is the 102nd floor, which features an enclosed observation deck.\u00a0<\/p>\n But despite causing a media frenzy, Nikolau and Kuznetsov are far from the first to climb the New York landmark.\u00a0<\/p>\n Alain Robert<\/a>, dubbed the \u201cFrench Spiderman,\u201d famously scaled the skyscraper unassisted, unequipped, and illegally in 1994.\u00a0<\/p>\n In 2023, actor and 30 Seconds to Mars frontman Jared Leto scaled the skyscraper<\/a> as part of his band\u2019s 2024 world tour promotions, becoming the first person to legally do so.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/new-york.jpg\")
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