NEW YORK — Two Russian climbers known online as the “Skywalkers” scaled to the very tip of the Empire State Building’s spire on Wednesday, unfurled a banner calling for world peace, and staged a marriage proposal 1,454 feet above Midtown Manhattan before being arrested and arraigned on multiple felony charges, according to CNN and Reuters.
The stunt by Angela Nikolau, 33, and Ivan Kuznetsov, 32, who also goes by Ivan Beerkus, has reignited questions about security at one of the world’s most recognizable landmarks, less than two decades after the September 11, 2001, attacks reshaped how New York protects its skyline. The pair, who live in New Jersey and are the subjects of the 2024 Netflix documentary “Skywalkers: A Love Story,” are no strangers to illegally scaling buildings; their arrest nonetheless sent shockwaves through the city’s tourism and security establishments, according to CNN.
A Night Inside the Landmark
According to ABC7 New York and The New York Times, Nikolau and Kuznetsov purchased observation-deck tickets the night before the climb and hid inside the Empire State Building overnight, evading closing-time sweeps by staff. NYPD investigators believe the couple then made their way to the 102nd-floor observation deck and passed through a locked maintenance hatch, eventually reaching a security door on the 104th floor that leads to the broadcast antenna. Prosecutors said in court papers that the lock on that door had been tampered with, with repair costs projected at roughly $2,000, the Times reported.
From there, the two climbed the roughly 200-foot antenna spire without ropes, harnesses, or any other safety equipment, ultimately reaching a point about 1,454 feet above the sidewalk, far beyond the enclosed 102nd-floor deck where the building’s ticketed tourists are permitted to go, according to Reuters. A former NYPD sergeant, Greg Sanfilippo, told ABC7 that the breach was “quite a disturbing breach,” adding: “They didn’t just stumble upon that hatch; there is what we’d call pre-observational surveillance, someone cased the joint, if you will, they didn’t just do that today.” He called it “every corporate real estate’s security team’s worst nightmare, getting access to the roof or ledges of their building.”
Banner, Proposal and Arrest
Dressed in matching black outfits, Nikolau in her trademark Catwoman-style headgear, the pair unfurled a black banner with white lettering that read, “When the power of love beats the love of power, the world knows peace,” a line attributed to Jimi Hendrix, according to Reuters and CNN. Moments later, Kuznetsov appeared to propose to Nikolau on a lower platform of the antenna structure; the two embraced and kissed as Nikolau photographed her new ring for Instagram.
Bodycam footage reviewed by CNN captured the moment officers reached the pair: “How are you doing? You can’t be up here,” an officer said. “I’m OK,” Nikolau replied. Air traffic control audio separately captured an officer radioing in the scene: “Two geniuses climbed to the top of the Empire State Building at the top of the spire. They had some flag they were waving when they were up at the top. And he just proposed to her.” Two Emergency Service Unit officers climbed four ladders to reach the couple and escorted them down safely; police said they were taken into custody “without incident.”
The New York Police Department closed streets around the building during the operation. Prosecutors said Kuznetsov told police he had wanted to “do something special for his engagement,” according to the Times.
Multiple Felony Charges
Nikolau and Kuznetsov were arraigned Thursday in Manhattan Criminal Court on charges including burglary, reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, criminal tampering, criminal trespass, and disorderly conduct, according to PBS NewsHour/The Associated Press and CBS News New York. Prosecutors from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office described the pair’s history of “extreme risk-taking behavior,” arguing that such stunts “consistently pose a danger to their own safety, as well as to New Yorkers and emergency responders,” the Times reported. The criminal complaint also noted that the antenna “emits high-frequency radio signals that can be harmful to humans.”
Defense attorney Jason Krinsky pushed back on the severity of the charges, telling the court his clients endangered no one but themselves and that a hexagonal platform beneath the antenna would have prevented a more serious fall had they slipped. “This a message of love, not one of hatred or violence,” Krinsky said, according to the Times. Both defendants were granted supervised release and are due back in court on August 24, 2026, according to CBS News New York and the Times. They left the courthouse holding hands, still dressed in the black athletic wear they wore during the climb; police retained the engagement ring as evidence.
“You Should Have Called Us First”
An Empire State Building spokesperson called Wednesday’s climb an “unauthorized incident” and, with some irony, noted the couple could have marked their engagement through more conventional, and legal, channels: the building’s $1,000 “Happily Ever Empire Proposal Package,” which rents out the observation deck for just such occasions, according to Reuters.
Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe told CNN the stunt put city officials, police, and the building’s owners in a “tough spot.” “They are going to have to do whatever they can to see that these people are prosecuted for any appropriate charges because they cannot take the chance that others will see this and decide to also try it,” McCabe said. He added that “the danger here, the recklessness, is obvious and can’t be overstated,” warning that turning the building “into a target for that sort of activity” could “ultimately end in some sort of tragedy.”
A Complicated Love Story
Nikolau and Kuznetsov have built a global following for scaling skyscrapers and other landmarks without permission, a pursuit chronicled in Netflix’s 2024 documentary “Skywalkers: A Love Story,” which describes the pair as “daredevil influencers” who “risk their romance, freedom and lives to climb a mega-skyscraper,” according to CNN. Netflix declined to comment on Wednesday’s incident.
The proposal narrative took an unexpected turn when Nikolau’s father, Dmitriy Nikolau, a circus artist in Russia, told ABC News that the couple is already married and that the spire proposal was staged, “a performance,” in his words. He also defended the climb itself, telling Reuters: “I think it is normal to climb up a roof in any country, including the United States, according to any constitution.” Asked whether he was concerned for his daughter’s safety, he said, “Why should I be worried? I climb up roofs myself.”
The Empire State Building, completed in 1931, was the tallest building in the world for decades before it was surpassed in the 1960s, and it has long drawn climbers, base jumpers, and other thrill-seekers despite tightened post-9/11 security, according to Reuters. It sells tickets to an enclosed observation deck on the 102nd floor but does not permit visitors to ascend the roughly 200-foot antenna spire above it. Other outlets, including Time, Al Jazeera and LadBible, noted the climb unfolded as New York City was already bracing for a heat wave, an anticipated celebrity wedding, and crowds gathering for July 4 celebrations marking the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
What Comes Next
The investigation into exactly how Nikolau and Kuznetsov breached the building’s security, including how they obtained access to the maintenance hatch and tampered with the antenna-room lock, remains ongoing, according to ABC7. Investigators are reviewing surveillance footage from inside the building, and security consultants say the episode is likely to prompt a broader review of protocols at high-profile towers across the city.
For now, Nikolau and Kuznetsov remain free on supervised release ahead of their August 24, 2026, court date, according to CBS News New York. Whether prosecutors pursue the full slate of felony charges, and whether the Empire State Building faces scrutiny over how two people evaded its defenses for an entire night, are questions likely to play out well beyond the couple’s next appearance in Manhattan Criminal Court.