Police Arrest Man After Early Morning Times Building Climb
A man scaled a portion of The New York Times' 52-story headquarters early this morning, becoming the third person to do so in a span of a few weeks, the police said.
The climber made it to the 11th floor of the building in midtown Manhattan before descending to a lower floor and spending hours hanging out, making cell phone calls, and talking to police before he was arrested about 5:30 a.m., police said.
At one point, the climber hung a white banner with red patches over part of the letter "T" of the word "The" in the company's sign. The banner referenced the Al Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden, the Times said on its Web site.
The man — identified as a college dropout and activist who studies Al Qaeda, David Malone — told the Daily News in a phone call today during his stunt that he aimed to protest the terror group's "crusader baiting."
He said he wanted to highlight Al Qaeda's "intentional provocation of the U.S." as the greatest threat to American national security, the News said on its Web site.
Police said the climber was taken to Bellevue Hospital Center for evaluation; charges were pending.
Dozens of police and firefighters responded about 1:30 a.m. when the man was first spotted climbing the building, police said. Streets were closed off and an inflatable cushion was placed in front of the main entrance of the building.
Two men, including a 45-year-old French stuntman known for climbing tall buildings, Alain Robert, managed to scale the building hours apart on June 5.
Unlike the climber today, both men made it to the top before being arrested. Charges of reckless endangerment and trespassing against Mr. Robert were dismissed by a grand jury. The men's actions led city officials to call for stronger laws to deter skyscraper shenanigans.
The facade of the newly constructed Times headquarters, which the company moved into only last year, is covered with slats that allowed the men to climb the tower like a ladder.
A spokeswoman for the Times, Catherine Mathis, said modifications were made to the building and additional security was added after the June climbs.
She said the company was investigating how the most recent climber was able to overcome those measures.
