A New York City tourist said she watched a daredevil couple slip through what appeared to be a restricted access point at the Empire State Building moments before they climbed the landmark's 1,454-foot antenna, prompting questions about security after the pair staged a high-altitude marriage proposal and were arrested.Julie Morris told WABC-TV she was on the building's 102nd-floor observation deck Wednesday when she saw two people pass through a mesh gate into what appeared to be a restricted area leading toward the antenna."Well, I was on the top, the very top, along come these two people.Opened the mesh.
Assumed they worked there and nobody stopped them," Morris said.Authorities identified the climbers as Angela Nikolau, 33, and Ivan Kuznetsov, 32, a Russian couple known for scaling skyscrapers and other towering structures around the world.The pair gained international attention in the 2024 Netflix documentary, "Skywalkers: A Love Story," which follows their unauthorized rooftop climbs.COUPLE FACING SLEW OF CHARGES AFTER CLIMBING TO THE TOP OF EMPIRE STATE BUILDING WITH MASSIVE BANNERTwo people were spotted holding a banner on top of the Empire State Building in New York City on July 1, 2026.
(WNYW)The couple climbed the Empire State Building's iconic transmitter, unfurled a banner reading, "When the power of love beats the love of power, the world knows peace," then embraced before Kuznetsov got down on one knee and proposed.After she said yes, Nikolau admired the ring before the couple continued climbing down the spire, where officers with the NYPD Emergency Service Unit met them and took them into custody.Ivan Kuznetsov, 32, proposed to Angela Nikolau, 33, atop the skyscraper.(WNYW)Police arrested the pair on charges of burglary, reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, criminal trespass, criminal tampering, possession of burglar's tools, disorderly conduct and other offenses.Police are reviewing surveillance footage and believe the pair entered the antenn...