"Rungs" Removed From Ladder-Like Times Building

Photograph, above, of the New York Times Building--as designed by Renzo Piano--by WallyG on Flickr; below, photograph of workers removing the rods by David Dunlap/NY Times

After a third person managed to scale up its ladder-like exterior, workers went to work removing a number of the horizontal "rungs" gracing the New York Times Building. The NY Times dutifully reports this decision "represented a reversal for The Times, which had insisted that it would not remove the rods after two men scaled the building on June 5, using the veil of rods as a ladder."

After two men--first Alain Robert, and then a few hours later, Renaldo Clarke--climbed the entire 52-story height of the building in June, the Times tried to increase security and some plywood to prevent further exploration. But climber David Malone, who claimed to have climbed the building to promote his book on Osama bin Laden, was the last straw for the NY Times.

Malone called the Post and Daily News, but arguably the News got the biggest scoop: Daily News night editor Jill Coffey developed a rapport with Malone on the phone and actually became involved in "jumper" negotiations. The NYPD arrived at the News' offices, then took Coffey to the Times Building to try to talk Malone down! Coffey described what happens in today's Daily News (her husband actually works at the Times) and in a video (see it after the jump):