Overview
- Two masked climbers who appeared to be a man and a woman ascended the Empire State Building transmitter/spire and displayed a banner at the top before descending to a lower platform on July 1, 2026.
- The banner read, “When the power of love beats the love of power the world knows peace,” a line often misattributed to Jimi Hendrix but originally spoken by William Gladstone.
- After coming down to a lower platform the male climber appeared to kneel and present a ring and the pair embraced and kissed, with the woman briefly removing her mask.
- The NYPD responded, cleared the observation deck, issued localized street-closure advisories near 5th Avenue and 34th Street, and said it is investigating the incident.
- Media and online users linked social-media posts to known urban climbers but identities remain unconfirmed and observers warned the stunt highlights recurring security gaps at high-profile landmarks and the role of social platforms in documenting such stunts.