NEW YORK (AP) — A daredevil couple scaled the Empire State Building’s antenna Wednesday and unfurled a banner about “the power of love” and peace, apparently as part of an audacious, high-altitude marriage proposal — soon followed by their arrest.
The Russian climbers, who go by Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus, were the subject of the 2024 Netflix documentary “Skywalkers: A Love Story” about their “rooftopping” exploits and budding romance.
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Dressed in black and wearing masks but not tethers, the two balanced on a narrow ledge and appeared to kiss atop the New York skyscraper’s antenna, news helicopter video showed. The banner, reading “when the power of love beats the love of power the world knows peace,” waved from the structure, which rises 1,454 feet (443 meters) above midtown Manhattan.
After lingering for a time, the two collected the banner and began to climb down, picking their way along the latticework of metal to a wider ledge, where one seemed to set up a piece of photography equipment and got down on one knee. After the two kissed again and hugged, the other person took selfies with an outstretched left hand, as if examining a ring.
Police Emergency Services Unit officers started ascending a ladder in the spindly structure to intercept them. Police body camera video showed an officer calling out a greeting and explaining, “Well, you can’t be up here.”
An off-camera voice replied with what sounded like, “We are engaged.”
Angela Nikolau and Vanya “Ivan” Beerkus, the couple who climbed to the top of the Empire State Building spire, depart New York City Criminal Court after their arraignment, in the Manhattan on July 2, 2026. Photo by Bing Guan/ Reuters
A few seconds later, officers reached a landing within the antenna and met the couple, who were coming down a ladder and calmly spoke with police, the video showed.
Nikolau posted images of the escapade on her social media accounts, including a photo that modeled an engagement-style ring above a bird’s-eye view of Manhattan.
The two climbers — whom police identified by their formal names, Angelina Nikolau and Ivan Kuznetsov — were awaiting arraignment on burglary, reckless endangerment and other charges. It wasn’t immediately clear whether they had attorneys who could speak to the allegations. An assistant to Nikolau said early Thursday that the couple was unavailable for the time being.
“Skywalkers: A Love Story” follows Beerkus and Nikolau as they make often unauthorized ascents of tall structures, sometimes posing as construction workers to sneak in.
It wasn’t clear how the pair gained access to the Empire State Building’s antenna, which rises well above public areas of the 102-story building. Building management said in a statement that the episode was “unauthorized” and didn’t endanger anyone in the skyscraper.
The management didn’t answer questions about how the two reached the antenna and what interactions, if any, they had with security workers. Empire State Building visitors are screened and told not to bring large packages, sports equipment, costumes or masks, among other items.
Tourist Julie Morris told local TV stations that she was on one of the building’s observation decks when she saw two people pass through some mesh gates into an off-limits area. She said she assumed the pair, who weren’t masked, worked there.
As the stunt unfolded, onlookers gaped from the sidewalks near the Art Deco office tower.
“It’s crazy — it’s like being in the movies,” said Jonathan Roman, a tourist visiting from the Scottish city of Glasgow. He and his 15-year-old son had observation platform tickets but arrived to find the building blocked off because of the antenna activity.
Still, the spectacle was “probably more exciting than going up to the viewing platform for the second time,” Roman reasoned.
Daredevils have previously climbed the antenna and other parts of the Empire State Building. Those ascents have largely been unauthorized, but actor and musician Jared Leto was allowed to climb up to the base of the antenna from the 86th floor in 2023 to promote a tour.
