Two people scaled the Empire State Building in New York on Wednesday afternoon, climbing high onto one of the world's most famous skyscrapers and setting off a large police response below. News crews were live as the pair were spotted at the very top of the building, roughly 1,454 feet above the ground, on the tower's uppermost tier.
The climb itself took the two up the spire, a section that rises 204 feet on its own. Reaching the top, they unfurled a flag that carried a message, one that could be read as political in nature. The flag read: when the power of love beats the love of power, the world knows peace.
After displaying the flag, the pair began to make their way back down. They descended part of the way, reaching a utility platform partway down the structure, where the situation took an unexpected turn that surprised those watching from below and on live television.
From the vantage point of the cameras, what happened next appeared to be a marriage proposal. One of the climbers got down on a knee on the platform, turning a daring and unlawful stunt into a personal moment played out at a dizzying height above Midtown Manhattan.
On the ground, the incident forced a significant response. The building's observation tower was evacuated, with tourists who had been waiting to ascend cleared from the area. Streets around the landmark were closed, including along Fifth Avenue near 35th Street, where traffic was blocked as authorities managed the scene.
Police and fire crews worked the site as the climbers made their way down. The pair were ultimately taken into custody, with authorities confirming the two were in custody as crews worked to bring them the rest of the way to the ground. They were expected to face charges over the climb, which sent a jolt through one of New York City's busiest districts and left crowds packing all four corners of 34th Street and Fifth Avenue to watch.
In the aftermath, the two were charged in connection with the stunt. Police identified them as 32-year-old Ivan Kuznetsov and 33-year-old Angela Nicolau, of East Orange, New Jersey, a couple known for scaling structures and documenting their climbs. Officials said the pair faced a range of counts, including burglary, reckless endangerment and criminal trespass, with a judge set to decide how the case would move forward.
The episode also raised pointed questions about how anyone could reach the top of such a heavily guarded and heavily visited landmark. Investigators said the two appeared to have used a hatch on the 102nd floor, one normally used for maintenance, opening a mesh door to get out onto the structure. The NYPD began reviewing surveillance video from inside the building as part of that inquiry.
Security specialists described the incident as a disturbing breach. One former NYPD officer who now works in corporate security said it appeared the climbers had not simply stumbled upon the access point but had carried out what he called pre-observational surveillance, in effect casing the building beforehand to find the way up. It was, he said, the kind of scenario that ranks among a building security team's worst nightmares.
The day after the climb, the pair appeared in court in Lower Manhattan, where they were arraigned and then released. They were formally charged with first-degree reckless endangerment, second-degree criminal mischief, burglary in the third degree and base jumping, and although the counts are not bail-eligible, prosecutors said the extreme risk-taking involved warranted keeping the couple under supervised release until they return to court.
Their lawyer argued that the two had been overcharged, contending that no one was hurt and that there had been no risk of danger to tenants, guests on the observation deck or anyone else in the building. According to the criminal complaint, a lock on a 104th-floor security door had been broken, giving the pair access to the broadcasting antenna more than 1,300 feet above the ground, past multiple restricted areas.