Third Climber Scales Times' Skyscraper
A man climbed part-way up The New York Times' 52-story headquarters early Wednesday, becoming the third person to scale the futuristic skyscraper in less than five weeks.
David Malone, 29, 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 5:20 a.m., police said.
He said he was inspired by news reports of the other climbers to get publicity for his crusade against al Qaeda, and the stories provided him with a roadmap on how to do it, according to police.
At one point Wednesday, Malone hung a white banner with red patches over part of the letter "T" of the word "The" in Times' sign. The banner referenced al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, police said.
He called a night editor at Daily News from the Times building during the stunt and said that he was trying to bring al Qaeda to the public's attention because Americans don't think the terrorist group is enough of a threat to national security.
The West Hartford, Conn. resident says he is an activist who studies al Qaeda. He is the author of a book, "Bin Laden's Plan," that argues that Sept. 11 was part of a plot by al Qaeda to provoke the U.S. into invading Iraq, according to a summary on Amazon.com.
Police brought the Daily News editor to the scene, and hostage negotiators worked to get the climber down to the fifth floor so he could speak to the editor in person, said Police Department spokesman Paul Browne.
Malone was then taken to Bellevue Hospital Center for evaluation and arrested on charges of reckless endangerment and criminal mischief. He was awaiting arraignment.
"The department's view is these antics put the public at grave risk, not to mention the potential for injury or death for the climber. The police department treats it seriously," Browne said.
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.
On June 5, daredevil Alain Robert and Renaldo Clarke separately climbed the Times building, which the newspaper company moved into last year. It is covered with slats that allowed the men to climb the tower like a ladder.
Unlike the climber on Wednesday, both men made it to the top before being arrested. Charges of reckless endangerment and trespassing against Robert were dismissed by a grand jury, but disorderly conduct charges are still pending. Reckless endangerment and disorderly conduct charges are still pending against Clarke.
The men's actions led city officials to call for stronger laws to deter skyscraper shenanigans.
A spokeswoman for the Times, Catherine Mathis, said modifications were made to the building and additional security was added after the June climbs. Extra security personnel was being contracted and temporary barriers were being considered to discourage climbers.
She said the company was investigating how the most recent climber was able to overcome those measures.