Two people were taken into police custody Wednesday afternoon after climbing to the top of New York City’s famed Empire State Building, where they unfurled a peace banner and appeared to start making out nearly 1,500 feet above the city.
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The pair, a man and a woman in dark outfits and masks, displayed a flag that read: “When the power of love beats the love of power, the world knows peace.”
In one especially surreal moment, the man got down on one knee and appeared to propose. The two embraced and kissed as an NBC New York helicopter circled overhead.
The two made their way down to street level, where they were taken into custody by law enforcement, according to New York Police Department spokesperson Delaney Kempner.
Police identified the climbers as Angelina Nikolau and Ivan Kuznetsov.
They were both charged with felony burglary, reckless endangerment and criminal mischief, as well as misdemeanor charges of possession of burglar’s tools, criminal tampering, criminal trespass and disorderly conduct, according to an NYPD spokesperson.
It was not immediately clear how the pair ascended to the top of the building, one of the city’s marquee tourist attractions. The couple scaled a 200-foot spire atop the 1,250-foot skyscraper, the sixth-tallest building in the country.
Nikolau and Kuznetsov were not reported injured, according to police.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the Empire State Building said that “the unauthorized incident at the building has been resolved with the constructive and helpful coordination of the NYPD.”
“There was at no time danger to tenants, visitors, and Empire State Building Observation Deck guests,” the spokesperson added. “It is to be emphasized that the Empire State Building Observation Deck, atop the ‘World’s Most Famous Building’ in the center of New York City, does offer a practical way for the most memorable marriage proposals.”
Cellphone videos recorded by onlookers captured the confusion at the scene as the pair stood near the building’s needle. In air traffic control audio reviewed by NBC News, an unidentified person can be heard asking: “What’s all the hoopla going on over there?”
“Geniuses climbed to the top of the Empire State Building, the top of the spire,” someone says.
Someone replies: “A little hot for that, isn’t it?”
The incident comes as New York City grapples with a heat wave and an influx of visitors for World Cup matches and the July Fourth holiday weekend.
The city is also readying for the possibility of pop star Taylor Swift and football player Travis Kelce’s wedding at Madison Square Garden.
