The Empire State Building Climb: All 8 Charges and What Happens Next
On 1 July 2026, two Russian climbers reached the top of the Empire State Building's broadcast antenna, 1,454 feet above Midtown Manhattan, unfurled a banner, and got engaged. About twenty-five minutes later they were in NYPD custody.
They face eight criminal counts. Their next court date is 24 August 2026. This post covers the incident and the case; a companion piece covers who they are and the rooftopping subculture they come from.
Timeline of the climb
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| Tue 30 June, evening | Entered the building on ordinary observation-deck tickets |
| Overnight | Hid in a restricted area inside the building |
| Wed 1 July, ~5:00am | Reached a hatch on the 102nd/103rd floor; a security door lock was broken (repair estimated ~$2,000) |
| ~12:00pm | On the antenna, 1,454ft up, banner unfurled |
| ~12:35pm | Kuznetsov proposed on a lower ledge; Nikolau accepted |
| ~1:00pm | Taken into custody on descent, without incident |
| Thu 2 July | Arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court; supervised release granted |
| Mon 24 Aug | Next scheduled court date |
The banner read: "When the power of love beats the love of power the world knows peace."
A note on height: the Empire State Building's 102nd-floor observatory sits at roughly 1,250 feet. The antenna tip is 1,454 feet. Coverage describing the climb as "over 1,000 feet" understates it by about 450 feet.
The full charge list
The couple were arrested by the NYPD and arraigned on a Manhattan District Attorney's complaint. Reporting from the arraignment consistently lists eight counts:
- Burglary
- Reckless endangerment
- Criminal mischief
- Violation of a local law
- Possession of burglar's tools
- Criminal tampering
- Criminal trespass
- Disorderly conduct
Reported maximum exposure is up to seven years.
On the degrees: NY1's reading of the complaint gives first-degree reckless endangerment, third-degree burglary and second-degree criminal mischief. That is a single-source detail, so it is stated here with attribution rather than as settled fact. NY1 also lists a BASE-jumping count; the couple did not jump, and this is most likely the "violation of local law" count under New York City's administrative code, which is routinely charged in skyscraper cases. That reading is not independently confirmed.
No press release from the Manhattan DA's office could be located. All charge reporting traces back to the complaint as read by reporters in court.
What happened at arraignment
None of the eight counts is bail-eligible under New York's 2019 bail reform statute, which removed cash bail for most non-violent felonies. Judge Janice Chen granted supervised release, with check-ins through CASES, a New York supervision provider. No plea was entered.
Their defence attorney, Jason Krinsky, says prosecutors have overcharged the case.
This is the part worth understanding: supervised release here is not leniency from the bench, and it is not a comment on the seriousness of the climb. It is what the statute requires for this charge profile. Commentary treating it as the judge going easy has the mechanism backwards.
The antenna, and why it mattered
The Empire State Building's antenna is an active broadcast transmitter carrying radio and television signals across the New York region. The radio-frequency energy it emits at close range is powerful enough to cause physical harm.
Before NYPD Emergency Service Unit officers could ascend, the antenna had to be powered down, and police waited roughly thirty minutes for that to happen. A former broadcast engineer, John Cleary, told CBS New York: "This is a live transmission tower. There's a lot of danger up there."
The part that gets left out: the officers
Around forty NYPD officers responded. Three ESU officers made an internal climb of roughly 1,250 feet in harnesses and extenders to intercept the pair on their way down. One of the three had graduated the police academy that same week.
NYPD Chief Michael Lipetri: "Unacceptable and there's going to be consequences."
Commissioner Jessica Tisch, releasing the officers' bodycam footage on 2 July: "The harrowing body camera video that we released last night, recorded by the officers responding to that stunt, it really can take your breath away."
The stunt was performed by two people who chose the risk. It was resolved by roughly forty who did not.
The building's response, and a detail worth noting
The Empire State Building's own statement notably downplayed the incident: "There was at no time danger to tenants, visitors, and Empire State Building Observation Deck guests," and the matter "has been resolved with the constructive and helpful coordination of the NYPD."
A security expert, Greg Sanfilippo, was less relaxed: "They didn't just stumble into that hatch. There was what we would call pre-observational surveillance. Someone cased the joint if you will."
One more detail that sits oddly against the whole affair: the Empire State Building sells a sanctioned marriage-proposal package on the observation deck for around $1,000. Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he would prefer proposals happen "within the bounds of the law and on the ground."
Sources
- CBS New York — climbers arrested after apparently getting engaged at the top
- CBS New York — climbers out on supervised release after arraignment
- NY1 — released after arraignment (charge degrees)
- Gothamist — judge orders supervised release
- PBS News (AP) — an audacious climb turned into a marriage proposal
- ABC News — new details on the climbers
Read next: Who the Skywalkers are, and what rooftopping actually is