A pair of kissing-daredevils scaled the Empire State Building’s 1,454-foot antenna in a cringe Instagram stunt before being arrested.
Angela Nikolau, 33, and her beau — who goes by Ivan “Vanya” Beerkus on social media but was identified as Ivan Kuznetsov, 32, by sources — were carrying a banner reading “when the power of love beats the love of power the world knows peace.”
The banner’s message is a slightly modified version of a quote frequently misattributed to guitar legend Jimi Hendrix, which was actually spoken by 19th-century British politician William Gladstone.
After lingering at the top of the tower for around 30 minutes, the climbers began making their way down the spire to the viewing platform, which appears to have been evacuated.
As the couple reached a platform at the base of the spire, Beerkus dropped down on one knee and proposed to Nikolau — who was wearing a black cat mask — with a ring that she later flaunted on Instagram.
The couple, who live in East Orange, New Jersey, was taken into custody upon reaching the ground and charges against them were pending, according to the NYPD and law-enforcement sources.
It was not immediately clear if they bought tickets to access the observation deck. But a source familiar told The Post the duo allegedly breached a mesh gate on the 102nd floor — the highest publicly accessible story — to reach the 103rd floor, which is exclusively used for maintenance.
The mesh gate and other security measures were recently installed in the stairwell between the 102nd and 103rd floors following previous attempts by trespassers to take selfies near the spire, according to sources.
An Empire State Building spokesperson told The Post, in part: “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.”
Jaw-dropping POV-style footage of their vantage from the top of the Empire State Building was also posted on Nikolau’s Instagram page, who describes herself as a “neoartist exploring identify, fear & freedom.”
Many of the photos on her page feature her with Beerkus atop several other world-renowned tall structures, including the Bay Bridge in San Francisco and Merdeka 118 in Kuala Lumpur — the world’s second-tallest building.
The Instagram account claims the couple were the subjects of a 2024 Netflix documentary, “Skywalkers: A Love Story,” which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival that year.
A Netflix spokesperson did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
The stunt wasn’t the first time someone has ascended to the top of the structure.
French climber Alain Robert, known as “French Spider-Man,” free-climbed the building with bare hands and feet in 1994. He was quickly arrested by the NYPD.
https://nypost.com/2026/07/01/us-news/kissing-daredevils-scale-empire-state-building-antenna-hanging-flag-1454-feet-over-nyc-with-cringe-message/
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