Topline
Two people wearing masks scaled the Empire State Building on Wednesday and unfurled a banner on top of its spire reading, “When the power of love beats the love of power, the world knows peace.”
Key Facts
It’s unclear exactly how the two people made it to the top of the building, but they were taken into police custody at about 1 p.m. Wednesday.
The New York Post reported Wednesday the pair were on the top of the tower for about 30 minutes before making their way down to the viewing platform, and that they stopped on a platform at the base of the spire where the man appeared to drop to one knee, presented the woman with an item and then the couple kissed.
The mystery pair is daredevil couple Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus, whose love story was told in a Netflix documentary called “Skywalkers: A Love Story” in 2024.
The couple is known for sneaking into skyscrapers and scaling them without climbing tools or safety gear, and Nikolau said in a recent Instagram comment “everything we do, we do illegally and without permission.”
Nikolau posted a video with a view of the city below her to her Instagram story Wednesday with the caption “Currently at the Empire State Building”
It’s against New York City law to scale the exterior of the Empire State Building without authorization (which has been granted only once before) and the pair could face charges of criminal tresspassing, reckless endangerment or criminal mischief, among other charges.
SURPRISING FACT
Actor and musician Jared Leto is the only person who has ever completed a legal, sanctioned climb of the Empire State Building. He climbed from the 86th floor up to the 104th in 2023 as a promotional event for his band, Thirty Seconds to Mars.
BIG NUMBER
2,227 feet. That’s the tallest building Nikolau and Beerkus have climbed. They illegally scaled Malaysia’s Merdeka 118, the second-tallest skyscraper in the world, in 2022.
Key background
Nikolau and Beerkus are so-called “rooftopers” who illegally climb to the top of buildings and then perform stunts, like dancing or lifting each other. The pair have described their hobby as “super stressful” and Nikolau told Netflix they’re “constantly having to manage” their love—and fear—for the other while climbing. Nikolau said they try to avoid “any potential conflict with religious institutions” by not climbing churches “too much” and Beerkus said the couple try “not to do any political acts on any of these buildings. We try to avoid politics and just focus on the message of love.” The most prominent, verified structures they have climbed—both individually and as a couple—include Goldin Finance 117 in China, Mercury City Tower in Russia and France’s Eiffel Tower, Basilica of Sainte-Clotilde and the Notre-Dame Cathedral.
