Couple who staged apparent proposal atop Empire State Building faces slew of charges

‘Rooftopers’ Angela Nikolau and Ivan Kuznetsov were arrested after allegedly scaling the New York skyscraper

Two Russian “rooftoppers” who staged an apparent marriage proposal at the peak of the Empire State Building’s spire were reportedly arraigned in New York on Thursday on a slew of charges including reckless endangerment.

Angela Nikolau and Ivan Kuznetsov were arrested on Wednesday after the stunt, which featured the pair, dressed in all black, unfurling a peace banner and kissing.

They spent the first night of their reported engagement in separate cells close to lower Manhattan’s New York City criminal court, where they were scheduled to appear at 9am EST on Thursday charged with burglary, reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, criminal trespass, criminal tampering, disorderly conduct, and possession of burglar’s tools.

Nikolau, 33, and Kuznetsov, a 32-year-old also known as Ivan Beerkus, are Russian nationals who share an address in New Jersey, records show. They are prominent practitioners of the underground thrill-seeking activity of “ rooftopping ”, in which self-styled urban outlaws scale skyscrapers and other tall buildings to take breathtaking photographs and video, or make political statements.

Kuznetsov’s Instagram account, @beerkus , has more than half a million followers, while that of his partner has 1.8 million .

After reaching the Empire State Building’s 1,454ft (443 metres) summit on Wednesday lunchtime, the pair – who reportedly have undertaken similar adventures in China and California, unfolded a large black flag reading: “When the power of love beats the love of power the ‌world knows peace.”

Investigators are working to determine how the pair scaled the final stages of the landmark building, which opened in 1931 as the world’s tallest, and featured in the climax of the blockbuster movie King Kong two years later.

The pair’s stunt was monitored by a New York police department drone and helicopter, and they were arrested by members of the department’s elite emergency service unit, which specializes in rescues at altitude.

In a statement, the owners of the Empire State Building said they preferred couples in love and seeking to become engaged to follow a more orthodox route.

“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 ,” the statement said.