TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A couple illegally climbed to the top of New York City's iconic Empire State Building on Wednesday, unfurled a peace banner, celebrated a marriage proposal nearly 1,500 feet above the ground, and were later arrested by police.
The climbers, identified by the New York Police Department (NYPD) as Angela Nikolau, 33, and Ivan Beerkus, 32, scaled the building's approximately 200-foot spire before displaying a black banner reading: “When the power of love beats the love of power, the world knows peace.”
The dramatic scene unfolded above one of New York's most recognizable landmarks as helicopters circled overhead and onlookers watched from the streets below.
The proposal followed shortly after the banner was unfurled. Beerkus knelt on one knee before Nikolau accepted, and the pair embraced and kissed atop the narrow platform.
As reported by NBC News, the couple later descended to street level, where they were taken into police custody without injury.
Police charged both with felony burglary, reckless endangerment, and criminal mischief, along with misdemeanor offenses including possession of burglar's tools, criminal tampering, criminal trespass, and disorderly conduct.
Authorities have not disclosed how the pair gained access to the restricted section of the skyscraper, whose communications spire rises roughly 200 feet above the building's main roof.
The Empire State Building said the incident was resolved through coordination with the NYPD and emphasized that the public was never in danger.
"There was at no time danger to tenants, visitors, and Empire State Building Observation Deck guests," a spokesperson said, adding that the observatory remains "a practical way for the most memorable marriage proposals."
Recordings from air traffic control captured surprise over the unusual sight as one person remarked that "geniuses climbed to the top of the Empire State Building," while another joked that the weather was "a little hot for that."
The incident occurred as New York experiences a summer heat wave while welcoming thousands of visitors for FIFA World Cup matches and the upcoming Independence Day holiday weekend.
According to The New York Times, the climb was far from the couple's first high-risk ascent. Nikolau and Beerkus, originally from Russia and now living in East Orange, New Jersey, gained international attention through the 2024 documentary Skywalkers: A Love Story, which chronicled their relationship and passion for extreme urban climbing.
Nikolau has amassed more than one million followers on Instagram, where she later posted videos showing sweeping views from the Empire State Building's spire as well as photographs of Beerkus proposing and her engagement ring against the backdrop of Manhattan's skyline.
Their previous climbs include Malaysia's Merdeka 118, one of the world's tallest buildings at more than 2,000 feet, along with skyscrapers and construction sites across China and Europe.
Body camera footage released by the NYPD showed emergency service officers climbing a caged ladder to reach the pair.
"Hello, how you doing? Can you just stay where you are? You can't be up here," one officer told them before escorting both climbers into custody.
The Empire State Building's spire itself is an uncommon target for climbers. French climber Alain Robert successfully scaled it in 1994, while New York's skyline has long attracted daredevils seeking increasingly risky feats.
Among the city's most famous aerial performances was Philippe Petit, who famously walked a tightrope between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in 1974.
Petit, however, dismissed the latest climb, arguing there was little comparison between his performance and the couple's social media-driven stunt.
"How can you compare writing an opera in the sky, and then climbing a very high ladder and unfurling a banner?" he said.
Petit also criticized the growing emphasis on viral online content over artistic expression.
"We all take selfies, and we forget to look, we forget to smell, we forget to hear," he said. "We are now the toys of modern media."
Read: 2 Arrested After Apparent Empire State Building Proposal
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