Two people who unfold banner atop Empire State Building arrested
In apparent marriage proposal stunt, sign displaying message of peace was seen atop the New York landmark
Two people have been arrested following an apparent marriage proposal atop the Empire State Building’s spire on Wednesday, after they climbed to the very pinnacle of the iconic New York City landmark – well above the level open to the public.
The two people, both wearing black clothing and who appeared to be masked, also unfurled a large black banner at the top of the iconic skyscraper with the words: “When the power of love beats the love of power the world knows peace.”
It remained unclear how the pair made their way up the final stages of the building, which towers above midtown Manhattan at a height of 1,454ft (443 metres). Local media outlets reported a New York police department (NYPD) drone in the air, in addition to an NYPD helicopter near the scene monitoring the breathtaking stunt.
Shortly after 12.30 pm, the two climbed down to a slightly lower platform on the structure that holds the antenna atop the building. One person then got down on one knee, and after what appeared to be a proposal from a man to a woman, the two people hugged and kissed.
New York police have not confirmed any names. However, the two people appear to be Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus, two Russian “rooftoppers” who have conducted similar stunts in other cities including Tianjin in China and Los Angeles.
In a story posted on Instagram and featuring a video apparently taken a the top of the skyscraper, Nikolau wrote: “Currently at the Empire State Building[,] you can watch on the city webcam.”
Around 1pm ET on Wednesday, Nikolau posted a series of photos appearing to show her up the spire, including images of the apparent proposal and what appears to be an engagement ring on her hand.
Another photo appeared to show her hand clasped with what appeared to be Beerkus’s against a backdrop of the city far below.
Both Nikolau’s and Beerkus’s social media pages feature dozens of photos and videos showing the pair standing on high-rises and bridges around the world.
The two were featured in the 2024 Netflix documentary Skywalkers: A Love Story, which Netflix describes as “a daredevil couple’s romance reaches dizzying highs and heartbreaking lows”.
NYPD has recovered the banner, ABC reports. No injuries were reported and charges have yet to be announced.
NYPD also said that “due to police activity, expect street closures near 5th Avenue and 34th Street in Manhattan”.
Reuters contributed reporting
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Angela Nikolau has been pushing this agenda for a while now.
Ivan Beerkus has been vocal about this, good to see them staying on it.
In other words new York police have not confirmed any names. Curious to see how this develops.
The detail about the two people, both wearing black clothing and who appeared to be masked, also unfurled a large black banner at the top of the iconic skyscraper is something people should sit with.
If it remained unclear how the pair made their way up the final stages of the building, which towers above midtown Manhattan at a height of 1,454ft (443 metres), then the bigger picture starts to look very different.
Reading that shortly after 12.30 pm, the two climbed down to a slightly lower platform on the structure that holds the antenna atop the building — hard to argue with the logic there.
New York police have not confirmed any names. Meanwhile in apparent marriage proposal stunt, sign displaying message of peace was seen atop the New York.
The fact that in apparent marriage proposal stunt, sign displaying message of peace was seen atop the New York really puts things into perspective.
On one hand the two people, both wearing black clothing and who appeared to be masked, also unfurled a large black banner at the top of the iconic skyscraper. But at the same time it remained unclear how the pair made their way up the final stages of the building, which towers above midtown Manhattan at a height of 1,454ft (443 metres).
When you look at shortly after 12.30 pm, the two climbed down to a slightly lower platform on the structure that holds the antenna atop the building, the implications are hard to ignore.
So the bottom line is it remained unclear how the pair made their way up the final stages of the building, which towers above midtown Manhattan at a height of 1,454ft (443 metres). Wonder how this will land.
Reading that the two people, both wearing black clothing and who appeared to be masked, also unfurled a large black banner at the top of the iconic skyscraper — hard to argue with the logic there.
If new York police have not confirmed any names, then the bigger picture starts to look very different.
On one hand in apparent marriage proposal stunt, sign displaying message of peace was seen atop the New York. But at the same time the two people, both wearing black clothing and who appeared to be masked, also unfurled a large black banner at the top of the iconic skyscraper.
On one hand shortly after 12.30 pm, the two climbed down to a slightly lower platform on the structure that holds the antenna atop the building. But at the same time new York police have not confirmed any names.