By Jonathan Allen and Maria Tsvetkova
NEW YORK, July 1 (Reuters) – A Russian couple of daredevil artists climbed to the top of the Empire State Building’s towering spire in New York City on Wednesday to unfurl a large banner urging world peace in what appeared to be an elaborate marriage proposal that ended in their arrests.
Dressed in sleeveless black outfits and documenting their time in the sky on social media, Angela Nikolau and Vanya Beerkus hung onto the landmark skyscraper’s antenna spire near the glowing red light at its tip some 1,454 feet (443 meters) above the sidewalks of midtown Manhattan.
They held a black banner with a message in all-capital white letters that flapped in the wind that said: “When the power of love beats the love of power the world knows peace.”
It was not clear how they got up there.
New York landmarks including the Empire State Building have heightened security since the World Trade Center attacks in 2001, and the city is currently bracing for the twin tsunamis of the expected wedding of pop phenomenon Taylor Swift and National Football League star Travis Kelce, as well as crowds for the July 4 celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
A DIZZYING PROPOSAL
A little after 12:30 p.m., the pair could be seen on aerial video footage slowly climbing down to a slightly lower platform in the antenna structure, where they paused. Beerkus then appeared to propose to Nikolau, getting down on one knee, before the couple embraced and kissed.
Nikolau, wearing her trademark Catwoman-style headgear, could then be seen admiring her hand and taking photographs on her phone to share on Instagram. The couple were the subject of a 2024 documentary called “Skywalkers: A Love Story.”
The New York Police Department closed down streets around the building. At least one police officer could be seen at an observation deck, more than 200 feet (61 meters) below the towering spire’s pinnacle, and police later said they had taken the couple into custody “without incident” and expected to bring unspecified charges.
The Art Deco tower, the tallest building in the world until it was surpassed in the 1960s, sells tickets to tourists who want to ascend to an enclosed observation deck on its 102nd floor. The outside observation deck that is open to the public is on the building’s 86th floor.
(Reporting by Jonathan Allen and Maria Tsvetkova; Editing by Scott Malone and Bill Berkrot)
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