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Brooklyn man, French daredevil climb New York Times building

By Matthew Sweeney and Marlene Naanes | msweeney@am-ny.com

8:46 PM EDT, June 5, 2008

Alain Robert, also known as The French Spiderman, pumps his fist at the cheering crowd after hanging a banner on the New York Times building, a new 52-story tower, while climbing it with his bare hands Thursday, June 5, 2008 in New York. In a press release Robert says the stunt is a peaceful way to create support for far greater and urgent action from world leaders on global warming. (Mary Altaffer, Associated Press / June 5, 2008)

It was daredevil deja vu.

Just fives hours after the French Spiderman scaled the New York Times building on Eighth Avenue Thursday, a man from Brooklyn matched his death-defying feat by climbing to the tower's roof, raising questions about the skyscraper 's security.

Fueled by anger that hours earlier, Alain Robert, 45, had scaled his way barehanded up the facade of the 52-story Times building, Clarke took on the Times building that he had been planning to climb for two years, f riends said.

"I know him well, and I think it's crazy," said Nick Ruzhnikov, 37. "But I love him. I gave him a hug, and wished him luck."

The climbers each successfully reached the roof and had a message of their own. Alain Robert, 45, scaled the building in the morning to mark World Environment Day at the United Nations, telling police that he picked the Times building because the Renzo Piano-designed edifice was green. Meanwhile, Clarke wore a T-shirt that read "Malaria No More."

But the fact that the illegal climb occurred twice in one day - and received such widespread attention - raised concerns that copycat daredevils would return. "Two climbers used our headquarters building to make personal statements," said Catherine Mathis, the Times' spokeswoman. "Their illegal and ill-considered actions jeopardized their safety and the safety of others. We are taking steps to prevent future occurrences."

The Times did not elaborate on what measures would be taken. Meanwhile, the NYPD referred questions about security at the site to the paper.

"This probably raises the bar a little higher for what building owners in Manhattan have to be on the lookout for," said Barbara Nadel, a Forest Hills-based architect and author of "Building Security: Handbook for Architectural Planning and Design."

As Clarke made his ascent, hundreds of passersby stopped in the streets below. The crowd gaped upward, half-fascinated half-horrified.

Unlike Robert who had climbed the Eiffel Tower among other high-rise structures, Clarke had scaled the likes of construction sites, nothing compared to Times' building, said a friend, Monica Escobar, 33.

News channels all switched their cameras to monitor Clarke's climb and many announced that they were showing it on a time-delay, the obvious fear being that he would be seen falling to his death on live television.

Bob Steele, a journalism ethics scholar, described the event as being of minor news value. "It's about sensationalism and it's about drawing eyeballs to the televisions," he said.

Clarke certainly seemed to play to the media and the crowds as he stopped to wave to employees inside the building. At other times, he stopped to rest his exhausted arms and legs.

Both men were taken into police custody when they reached the roof. Robert was arrested on reckless endangerment and criminal trespass charges. Charges against Clarke were pending the outcome of a pyschiatric evaluation, police said.

David Freedlander contributed to this story.