Daredevil Couple Arrested After Climbing the Empire State Building: What We Know
· Time
A daredevil Russian couple were arrested and charged after scaling the Empire State Building in New York City on Wednesday, in what appeared to be an elaborate and risky marriage proposal.
The New York Police Department identified them as Ivan Kuznetsov, 32, and Angelina Nikolau, 33, self-proclaimed “rooftoppers” who climb and pose atop the highest buildings without safety nets or permission. The two were the subject of the 2024 Netflix documentary Skywalkers: A Love Story.
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Aerial footage showed that at midday, the couple, wearing black masks and clothes, holding onto the skyscraper’s antenna—about 1,454 ft (443 m) from the ground—while unfurling a banner that reads: “When the power of love beats the love of power, the world knows peace.”
Footage later showed one of them going down on one knee, before embracing and kissing.
New York police responded to the incident, as streets below were shut down. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch posted on social media body camera footage of the NYPD’s 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, “You can’t be up here,” before apprehending them.
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 2026The couple also posted photos of their climbing exploit on social media, including a snapshot of a ring in what appears to be Nikolau’s hand.
A spokesperson for the Empire State Building told the media that there was “at no time danger to tenants, visitors, and Empire State Building Observation Deck guests.” The building’s social media account also appeared to lean into the incident, posting that it offered “a practical way for the most memorable marriage proposals.”
Unclear how the two got there
How Nikolau and Kuznetsov managed to reach the Empire State Building’s 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.
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. “There’s a lot of danger out there,” he said.
CBS News 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.
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.
A history of being climbed
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.
But despite causing a media frenzy, Nikolau and Kuznetsov are far from the first to climb the New York landmark.
Alain Robert, dubbed the “French Spiderman,” famously scaled the skyscraper unassisted, unequipped, and illegally in 1994.
In 2023, actor and 30 Seconds to Mars frontman Jared Leto scaled the skyscraper as part of his band’s 2024 world tour promotions, becoming the first person to legally do so.
Last year, photographer Isaac Wright was arrested at the opening of his gallery exhibition and charged with misdemeanor criminal trespassing after he shot a photograph following his climb to the top of the Empire State Building's spire in 2024.