2 people arrested after hanging banner about ‘the power of love’ on Empire State Building antenna

A person is shown atop the spire of the Empire State Building, in New York, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

NEW YORK -- Two people got to the top of the Empire State Building’s antenna and unfurled a banner about “the power of love” at midday Wednesday, before starting to descend, embracing, taking selfies and ultimately being arrested.

Dressed in black and wearing masks -- but not tethers, it appeared -- the two balanced on a narrow ledge and appeared to kiss atop the New York skyscraper’s antenna, which rises 1,454 feet (443 metres) above midtown Manhattan, news helicopter video showed. The banner, reading “when the power of love beats the love of power the world knows peace,” waved in the wind.

Just after 12:30 p.m., they began to climb down, efficiently picking their way along the latticework of metal to a wider ledge, where one seemed to set up a piece of electronic equipment and got down on one knee. After the two kissed again and hugged, the other person took selfies with an outstretched left hand, as if examining a ring.

Onlookers gaped from the sidewalks near the Art Deco office tower.

“It’s crazy -- it’s like being in the movies,” said Jonathan Roman, a tourist visiting from the Scottish city of Glasgow. He and his 15-year-old son had tickets to go up to one of the observation platforms but arrived to find the building blocked off because of the antenna activity.

Still, the spectacle was “probably more exciting than going up to the viewing platform for the second time,” Roman reasoned.

Office workers wondered how the pair managed to get to the antenna of a high-profile building where visitors are screened and told not to bring large packages, sports equipment, costumes or masks, among other items.

“I just can’t believe they made it through security,” said Jessica Kaplan, who works at a company with offices in the building.

Police took the two climbers into custody after 1 p.m.; their names weren’t immediately released. No one was injured, police said.

It wasn’t clear how the pair gained access to the antenna, which rises well above public areas of the 102-storey building.

There was no immediate reply to a message to the building’s management.

Daredevils have previously climbed the antenna and other parts of the Empire State Building. Those ascents have largely been unauthorized, but actor and musician Jared Leto was allowed to climb up to the base of the antenna from the 86th floor in 2023 to promote a tour.

The Associated Press