The two people taken into custody for climbing New York City’s Empire State Building where they apparently got engaged Wednesday afternoon have been identified as Ivan Kuznetsov, 32, and Angelina Nikolau, 33, law enforcement sources told CBS News.
They live in East Orange, N.J. but are originally from Russia, sources said.
Kuznetsov’s social media page identifies him as Ivan Beerkus.
The two have a history of conducting similar stunts, climbing tall buildings without ropes or other safety equipment. They were previously featured in a documentary about climbing Malaysia’s Merdeka 118 Tower, which is 2,227 feet tall.
The couple managed to make their way all the way to the top of the Empire State Building’s transmission tower, which provides radio and television signals to local stations.
Climbing the tower while it is powered up and transmitting poses particular hazards.
Nikolau posted about their escapade on social media while it was happening.
The images include one showing Kuznetsov on one knee proposing to Nikolau, and Nikolau holding up her ring while looking south across the New York City skyline.
“They knew they were going to get caught”
The Empire State Building was none too pleased with the incident.
“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. 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,” a spokesperson said.
Hector Alvarez saw them being walked out of the skyscraper’s loading dock in handcuffs.
“Wearing all black, they came out. They didn’t say anything. They were not hurt,” Alvarez said. “I’m guessing they knew they were going to get caught.”
Just two days ago, Nikolau posted a video from another Manhattan skyscraper, saying she was celebrating her birthday.
What is rooftopping?
The scaling of tall buildings is known as “rooftopping.” Tom Durante said he’s been rooftopping for a decade.
“The consequences for getting caught on the Empire State Building, I think, outweigh the risk for a majority of people, and that’s really the line people are walking when doing something like this,” Durante said.
The couple, who got engaged in the middle of the stunt Wednesday, have talked about doing the daredevil stunts as an art form.