Two masked climbers, Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus, scaled the Empire State Building on Wednesday, July 1, flew a peace message banner, and one of them proposed—before the NYPD took them into custody and shut down nearby streets.
When two masked figures appeared high above Manhattan, it looked like romance with a message meant to travel farther than any skyline. But by the time they began to come down, New York had already turned the moment into a police response.
Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus climbed to the top of the Empire State Building in New York City on Wednesday. July 1. and unfurled a banner promoting world peace. During the stunt. a video taken from the air shows Beerkus appearing to get on one knee to propose to Nikolau. She appears to say yes before the two embraced at the top.
The couple, who were featured in the 2024 Netflix documentary “Skywalkers: A Love Story,” posted photos from the summit on Instagram. The caption for the post read, “Empire State Building, New York.” Nikolau also showed a ring with the New York skyline in the background.
Their banner carried the line: “When the power of love beats the love of power the world knows peace.”
After the proposal played out at the top, the Empire State Building’s height became the backdrop for another kind of rush below. The New York Police Department confirmed officers responded to the scene and shut down several streets near 5th Avenue and 34th Street.
At 12:35 p.m. ET, the two individuals began to descend from the building in Manhattan, according to the NYPD. The NYPD also said the two individuals involved in the incident had been taken into custody. It was not immediately clear what charges they may face.
The episode landed in a city already familiar with risk. but the couple’s history makes the climb itself feel less like an isolated stunt and more like a practiced pattern. The climbers have gained notoriety for scaling tall buildings around the world. including the highest construction site in China in 2016 and the 118-story Merdeka building in Malaysia.
Standing 1,454 feet high when counting the spire and antenna, the Empire State Building is the 4th tallest building in the city and the 6th tallest in the United States, according to an online fact sheet.
Empire State Building Angela Nikolau Ivan Beerkus Skywalkers: A Love Story NYPD New York City marriage proposal banner world peace