Jun 6, 2008 6:33 pm US/Eastern
Two Daredevils Take On NY Times Building
Want To Raise Awareness For Global Warming, Malaria
NY Times Increasing Security In Response To Climbers
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
-
-
Two men climbed the New York Times building in Times Square on June 5.
CBS
-
-
Alain Robert takes a moment to measure the wall of the New York Times building as he climbs his way to the top.
Jonathan Evan Goldberg/CBS Viewer
The New York Times is changing the security around its Times Square headquarters after two daredevils scaled all the way to the top – 52 floors on Thursday.
First, the famous Frenchman dubbed 'Spiderman' - Alain Robert used the new 52-story New York Times building as a ladder to the sky to deliver his message about global warming. Then just seven hours later, Renaldo Ray Clarke of Brooklyn tried the same stunt to bring attention to the issue of childhood malaria.
A spokeswoman for the Times, Catherine Mathis, criticized the climbers, saying the newspaper was "taking steps to prevent future occurrences." A cordon of police officers and private security now stand guard in front of The New York Times building after two men used the building's ceramic tubes like rungs on a ladder without using safety harnesses or ropes.
Slack-jawed pedestrians couldn't believe what they were seeing.
"He didn't have a belt or nothing," said Sarah Tucker. "He just kept going up and up and I thought oh my goodness!"
Robert felt the risks and his subsequent arrest was well worth the dangerous stunt.
"Since the gas emissions are still climbing, I am going to climb," said Robert.
The NYPD felt otherwise. Sgt. Mike McGuiness told CBS 2 HD he thought "it was stupid to endanger the public the way he did because some of the tiles were breaking loose as he traveled up the building."
Clarke, a physics student at CCNY, began his ascent while a CBS 2 HD News crew was at the tower investigating the first. Someone on the street yelled it's happening again.
A small crowd assembled to watch Clarke's 40-minute climb to the top of the NYT building. As he was pulled to safety, Clarke smiled and tried to draw attention to his t-shirt, which promoted malaria awareness.
"I watched him from the beginning, took pictures, terrified," friend Monica Escobar told CBS 2 HD outside Bellevue Hospital, where Clarke was taken for observation.
Clarke's friend Nick Ruzhniko explained why he made the dangerous climb.
"By the end of the day 3,000 children are going to be killed because of this disease and that was his modus operandi for the climb and I think what he did was very selfless," Ruzhniko said.
Many others disagreed, including the NYPD and Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who said both tower climbers put lives in jeopardy. They said the incidents were really nothing more than a scare, a stunt and a waste of resources,
"I'm sure there will be a lot of copycatters," witness Sally Kwaja said. "They will want to do the same thing,"
Added another witness, "It's New York. Everybody likes a little 15 minutes of fame."
Both men were charged with reckless endangerment, criminal trespass and disorderly conduct, and Robert also was charged with making graffiti for posting the banner about global warming on the side of the building.
Robert was released on bail early Friday and Clarke was awaiting arraignment.
CBS 2's Dave Carlin and Sean Hennessey contributed to this report.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
2009 Celebrity Deaths
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Reporting
Comments