They say they did it all for love — but prosecutors say they recklessly put themselves and others in extreme danger.
Angelina Nikolau, 33, and Ivan “Vanya” Kuznetsov, 32, were arraigned Thursday morning for scaling the spire on top of the Empire State Building for a marriage proposal a day earlier.
Appearing in Manhattan Criminal Court in the all-black getups they wore to climb the 1,454-foot skyscraper on Wednesday, they were charged with burglary, reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, criminal tampering and related non-bail eligible charges.
Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Anthony Giliberti said the couple regularly engage in extreme risk taking behavior like breaking and entering into restricted areas of commercial buildings, hanging from rooftops, and free climbing skyscrapers.
Barry Williams / New York Daily News
Angelina Nikolau and Ivan Kuznetsov ride the subway after their arraignment in Manhattan on Thursday morning. (Barry Williams / New York Daily News)
Scenes of the couple atop the gleaming Midtown skyscraper in record-degree heat that ricocheted around the world showed Kuznetsov getting down on one knee and proposing to his beaming girlfriend.
The prosecutor said Kuznetsov told cops after his arrest that he had wanted to “do something special” for the engagement.
That motive spurred the couple to trespass in a nonpublic area atop the Empire State overnight and scale the broadcast antenna above Fifth Ave to hang their banner reading, “When the power of love beats the love of power, the world knows peace.”
“These activities continually create a risk to their own lives, as well as the lives of New Yorkers and first responders,” Giliberti said.
After being notified the couple were up on the antenna around 11:15 a.m. Wednesday, police discovered a lock had been broken on a security door on the building’s 104th floor, which is closed off to the public and leads to the tip-top of the building, according to the criminal complaint. The floor can’t be reached without accessing the 102nd floor with a key card.
The antenna had to be powered down so NYPD cops could safely approach the couple due to the spire’s dangerous high-frequency radio signals, the complaint details.
NYPD Emergency Service Unit officers waited about 30 minutes before climbing up to the antenna, where the couple “persisted” and “could not be easily extricated, and in doing so they had placed the officers in a highly dangerous situation,” the complaint reads.
Judge Janice Chen granted the couple supervised release, requiring the couple to regularly check in with the city while their cases are pending.
Nikolau wasn’t wearing her new ring at Thursday’s arraignment and later told reporters that cops still had it at the precinct stationhouse.
In a media scrum outside the courthouse, Kuznetsov batted off questions until asked by a Daily News reporter whether the power of love — or love of power — was on display in the courtroom.
“It’s the most powerful power, love,” he said. “We believe in love.”
Jason Krinsay, an attorney for the couple, told reporters his clients were innocent until proven guilty. Noting there were “low winds” on Wednesday, and referencing media interviews with Empire State staff he’d watched Thursday morning, the lawyer said it was clear the pair hadn’t endangered anyone.
“Even the building’s own people, the Empire State Building’s own people, said that there was no risk of danger to any of the tenants, to any of the guests on the observation deck,” Krisnay said.
The attorney said the DA’s office had overcharged Nikolau and Kuznetsov, while acknowledging the couple “were trying to send a message.”
“As far as what I’ve seen, and I’m sure you’ve all seen, it was a message of love, and, you know, that’s a nice thing,” he said.
“On the other hand, the law is the law, right? So, we’re going to deal with this case. But I will say, it’s nice to have somebody wearing backpacks doing a message of peace instead of a message of destruction and war.”
Walking to the subway after the proceedings, the couple had no complaints about their 24 hours in lockup, saying the police had been “very nice.” They said they didn’t have access to their phones in custody and were unaware of the explosive public reaction but thought it was “great” they got their message out to the world.
The couple declined to share wedding details and laughed when reporters pointed out a bride and groom on the steps of the 60 Centre St. courthouse.
Asked whether they eventually wanted to have their big day in New York, Nikolau said, “I hope!”
At a Thursday press conference on historic reductions in crime in the city, Mayor Mamdani and NYPD officials praised the cops who apprehended the couple.
“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,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. “But that is what the men and women of ESU do basically every day.”
Mamdani expressed his “appreciation both in regards to what ESU did yesterday as well as appreciation to what police officers do everyday across the five boroughs.”
NYPD officials strongly condemned the stunt.
“These are serious felony charges,” NYPD Chief of Department Michael LiPetri said. “This was unacceptable and there are going to be consequences.”
With Thomas Tracy
