Daredevil ascends New York skyscraper

Source: Agencies  |   2008-7-10  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

A man scaled a portion of The New York Times' 52-story headquarters yesterday morning, becoming the third person to do so in the span of a few weeks, American 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 making cell phone calls and talking to police. He was arrested at 5:30am, police said.

At one point, the climber unfurled a banner on the "T" of the Times' sign that referenced al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, the Times reported on its Website yesterday.

Dozens of police and firefighters responded at 1:30am after 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.

The Daily News reported on its Website yesterday that it had received a call from a man identifying himself as the climber who said he was a 29-year-old college dropout from Connecticut.

The spokeswoman for the Times said modifications were made to the building and additional security was added after two climbers managed to scale the building on June 5. Both made it to the top and were charged with reckless endangerment and criminal trespass.