Justin Casquejo

Last updated
Justin Casquejo
Born (1997-10-24) October 24, 1997 (age 27)
Weehawken, New Jersey, U.S.
Years active2014-present
Known forRooftopping

Justin Casquejo (born October 24, 1997), also known online as LiveJN, [1] is an American rooftopper, free solo climber and stunt performer of Filipino descent. [2] He has scaled several skyscrapers in Manhattan, New York City, as well as a water tower in his hometown, Weehawken, New Jersey, and has been arrested, charged, and convicted for some of his activities. Others have been brought to light through his publication on social media, such as Instagram and YouTube.

Contents

One World Trade Center

In March 2014, Casquejo climbed to the top of the topped-out, but not yet completed, 1,776-foot (541 m) One World Trade Center. [3] Casquejo, then 16 years old, entered the site through a hole in a fence. He was subsequently arrested on trespassing charges. [4] He allegedly dressed like a construction worker, sneaked in, and convinced an elevator operator to lift him to the tower's 88th floor, according to news sources. He then used stairways to get to the 104th floor, walked past a sleeping security guard, and climbed up a ladder to get to the antenna, where he took pictures for two hours. [5] The elevator operator was reassigned, and the guard was fired. [6] [7] It was then revealed that officials had failed to install security cameras in the tower, which facilitated Casquejo's entry to the site. [8] [9]

In July 2014, in a plea agreement, Casquejo admitted to breaking a city misdemeanor law against scaling tall buildings without permission. He was sentenced to 23 days of service (which he completed with an extra six days). He submitted, as was required, a 1,200-word essay explaining what he had learned from the episode. [10]

Weehawken Water Tower

In September 2014, Casquejo was again arrested for scaling the 175-foot (53 m) Weehawken Water Tower. He was charged with defiant trespassing and resisting arrest. [11] [12]

70 Pine Street

On February 21, 2016, Casquejo was charged with misdemeanor BASE jumping and trespassing for climbing above the roof at 70 Pine Street, an 850-foot (260 m), 67-story luxury apartment in the Financial District. [13] He avoided jail time in the sentencing on September 6, 2017, after pleading guilty to BASE jumping. He was granted youthful offender status; the case will eventually be sealed. [14]

Paramount Tower

In June 2017, Casquejo was arrested at the 568-foot (173 m) [15] Paramount, a 52-story residential skyscraper on East 39th Street in Turtle Bay, Manhattan. [16] [17] [18] In September 2017 Casquejo pleaded guilty to second-degree trespass in exchange for three years' probation for scaling the luxury apartment building.

Unapprehended climbs

In addition to those situations where he has been apprehended, Casquejo has posted images of climbing the George Washington Bridge and buildings near Times Square, Columbus Circle, and the Empire State Building. [19] He has a large following on Instagram and YouTube. [20]

220 Central Park South

In November 2016 Casquejo hung from a construction crane at the not-yet-completed 950-foot (290 m) 220 Central Park South. [21] [22] [23] [24]

Other climbs and arrests

Despite his probation, Casquejo has made other climbs, [25] for which he was arrested. [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] As of January 2024, he regularly shares Instagram reels featuring himself engaging in similar feats of climbing tall structures, primarily in New York City, but also in Hong Kong. [31] [32]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Weehawken, New Jersey</span> Township in Hudson County, New Jersey, US

Weehawken is a township in the northern part of Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located on the Hudson Waterfront and Hudson Palisades overlooking the Hudson River. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 17,197, an increase of 4,643 (+37.0%) from the 2010 census count of 12,554, which in turn reflected a decline of 947 (−7.0%) from the 13,501 counted in the 2000 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buildering</span> Act of climbing buildings

Buildering describes the act of climbing on the outside of buildings and other artificial structures. The word "buildering", sometimes misspelled bildering, combines the word building with the climbing term bouldering. If done without ropes or protection far off the ground, buildering is extremely dangerous. It is often practiced outside legal bounds, and is thus practiced mostly at night.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alain Robert</span> French rock and urban climber

Alain Robert is a French rock climber and urban climber. Nicknamed "the French Spider-Man" or "the Human Spider", Robert carries out free solo climbs of skyscrapers using no climbing equipment except for a small bag of chalk and a pair of climbing shoes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Shard</span> Skyscraper in London, England

The Shard, also referred to as the Shard London Bridge and formerly London Bridge Tower, is a pyramid-shaped 72-storey mixed-use development supertall skyscraper, designed by the Italian architect Renzo Piano, in Bermondsey, London, that forms part of The Shard Quarter development. Standing 309.6 metres high, The Shard is the tallest building in the United Kingdom, the seventh-tallest building in Europe, and the second-tallest outside Russia behind the Varso Tower in Warsaw, which beats the Shard by less than half a metre. The Shard replaced Southwark Towers, a 24-storey office block built on the site in 1975.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Goodwin</span> American climber (born 1955)

Daniel Goodwin is an American climber best known for performing gymnastic-like flag maneuvers and one-arm flyoffs while free soloing difficult rock climbs on national TV and for scaling towering skyscrapers, including the Sears Tower, the John Hancock Center, the World Trade Center, the CN Tower, and the Telefónica Building in Santiago, Chile.

George Willig is a mountain-climber from New York, New York, United States, who climbed the South Tower of the World Trade Center on May 26, 1977, about two and a half years after tightrope walker Philippe Petit walked between the tops of the two towers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tour Ariane</span> Office skyscraper located in La Défense

Tour Ariane ; previously known as tour Générale between 1973 and 1995, is an office skyscraper located in La Défense, the high-rise business district situated west of Paris, France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">One World Trade Center</span> Skyscraper in Manhattan, New York

One World Trade Center, also known as One WTC and Freedom Tower, is the main building of the rebuilt World Trade Center complex in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Designed by David Childs of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, One World Trade Center is the tallest building in the United States, the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, and the seventh-tallest in the world. The supertall structure has the same name as the North Tower of the original World Trade Center, which was destroyed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The new skyscraper stands on the northwest corner of the 16-acre (6.5 ha) World Trade Center site, on the site of the original 6 World Trade Center. It is bounded by West Street to the west, Vesey Street to the north, Fulton Street to the south, and Washington Street to the east.

Owen J. Quinn is an American man who was the first person to successfully parachute off one of the World Trade Center towers, on July 22, 1975.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hackensack Water Company Complex</span> United States historic place

The Hackensack Water Company Complex is a set of historic buildings in Weehawken, New Jersey, registered in the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. The Hackensack Water Company, a predecessor of Suez North America, developed water supply and storage in northeastern New Jersey from the 1870s to the 1970s, initially to provide service to the city of Hackensack and the towns of North Hudson. Originally its headquarters and major facilities were located at Hackensack, in Bergen County. Under Robert W. de Forest, who ran the Hackensack Water Company for 46 years beginning in 1881, the company constructed new facilities and moved its headquarters to Weehawken in Hudson County, setting up offices in a brick water tower, part of the present complex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lotte World Tower</span> Tallest building in South Korea

Lotte World Tower (Korean: 롯데월드타워), is a 123-story, 555 m (1,821 ft) supertall skyscraper, located in Sincheon-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul, South Korea. It is the sixth-tallest building in the world, the tallest in OECD countries, and also the first in South Korea to be over 100 stories tall.

Merdeka 118, formerly known as Menara Warisan Merdeka, KL 118 and PNB 118, is a 118-story megatall skyscraper in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. At 678.9 m (2,227 ft) tall, it is the second-tallest building and structure in the world, only behind the Burj Khalifa at 829.8 m (2,722 ft).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2 World Trade Center</span> Unfinished skyscraper in Manhattan, New York

2 World Trade Center is a skyscraper being developed as part of the rebuilt World Trade Center complex in Manhattan, New York City. It will replace the original 2 World Trade Center, which was completed as part of the first World Trade Center in 1973 and subsequently destroyed during the September 11 attacks in 2001, and it will occupy the position of the original 5 World Trade Center. The foundation work was completed in 2013, though no construction has taken place since.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rooftopping</span> Climbing of rooftops and other high objects

Rooftopping, sometimes called roofing, refers to the unsecured ascent of rooftops, cranes, antennas, bell towers, smokestacks, or other tall structures, usually illegally. Rooftoppers usually take photos or videos of their climbs.

Pavlo Gennadiyovich Ushivets, better known as Mustang Wanted, is a Ukrainian urban climber and Internet celebrity. He is known for the high-altitude stunts he performs around the world with little or no safety equipment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vitaliy Raskalov and Vadim Makhorov</span>

Ontheroofs is an urban exploration and rooftopping photography project conceived by Vitaliy Raskalov and Vadim Makhorov, from Ukraine and from Russia respectively. Their main focus of photography is the exploration of high-rise architectural structures like skyscrapers, bridges, historic sites and cathedrals. The team have been notable for their number of free-climbs up famous buildings and monuments around the world. Typically, their videos are uploaded onto YouTube and showcase their ascent and descent. Raskalov and Makhorov appeared as recurring cast in the documentary series URBEX – Enter At Your Own Risk, which launched globally on Red Bull TV on August 1, 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World Trade Center (2001–present)</span> Skyscraper complex in Manhattan, New York

The current World Trade Center (WTC) is a complex of buildings in the Lower Manhattan neighborhood area of New York City, replacing the original seven buildings on the same site that were destroyed during the September 11 attacks of 2001. The site is being redeveloped with up to six brand new skyscrapers, four of which have been finished as of 2024; a memorial and museum to those killed of the attacks; the elevated Liberty Park adjacent to the site, containing the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and the Vehicular Security Center; the Perelman Performing Arts Center; and a transportation hub. The 104-story One World Trade Center, being the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, is the lead building for the new complex.

Alistair Law is an English YouTuber from Southampton. His videos feature parkour, with him climbing on a range of buildings and cranes, as well as doing "overnight challenges", where he and a group of friends attempt to stay in various commercial premises after closing hours.

<i>Hudson Riverfront 9/11 Memorial</i>

The Hudson Riverfront 9/11 Memorial, also known as the Weehawken 9/11 Memorial, is a memorial in Weehawken, New Jersey. It commemorates the '9/11 boat lift', the emergency rescue response, and those who perished in the aftermath the September 11 attacks of the World Trade Center in 2001. It is located on the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway at the site of triage which had been set up on the left bank of Hudson River and was dedicated ten years after the events of that day.

References

  1. ↑ "LIVE JN - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  2. ↑ Corrales, Nestor (March 22, 2014). "Fil-Am teen's World Trade Center climb draws mixed reactions". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  3. ↑ Schwirtz, Michael (March 20, 2014). "Port Agency Investigates Boy's Ascent of World Trade Center". The New York Times. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
  4. ↑ "New Jersey teen sneaks to top of 1 World Trade Center, police say". CNN. March 20, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
  5. ↑ Peyser, Andrea (April 4, 2014). "Trespassers at 1 WTC are a wakeup call". New York Post . Retrieved April 24, 2014.
  6. ↑ Messing, Philip, Frank Rosario and Bruce Golding (March 20, 2014). "Teen sneaks past guard to reach WTC spire". New York Post. Retrieved April 24, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ↑ Stepansky, Joseph & Thomas Tracy (March 20, 2014). "Daredevil teen sneaked into 1 World Trade Center". Daily News . New York. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
  8. ↑ Margolin, Josh & Alyssa Newcomb (March 20, 2014). "Teen Sneaks Past Security, Climbs Atop 1 World Trade Center". ABC News. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Teen's Stunt Exposes That WTC Has No Working Surveillance Cameras". Mashable. March 20, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
  10. ↑ "Weehawken teen who climbed to top of 1 World Trade Center sentenced to community service". NJ.com. Associated Press. September 3, 2014. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  11. ↑ Zeitlinger, Ron (September 22, 2014). "Weehawken teen who climbed 1 WTC charged with climbing historic water tower, source says". The Jersey Journal. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
  12. ↑ "World Trade Center teen busted after allegedly scaling NJ structure: report". September 23, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
  13. ↑ "WTC-climbing teen daredevil surrenders to cops over newest stunts". New York Daily News. December 3, 2016. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
  14. ↑ Rosner, Elizabeth (September 6, 2017). "Daredevil teen avoids jail time for climbing skyscrapers".
  15. ↑ "Paramount Tower Apartments, New York City | 115529". Emporis. Archived from the original on September 8, 2017. Retrieved May 3, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  16. ↑ Byfield, Erica (June 2, 2017). "Young World Trade Center Climber Arrested at Yet Another High-Rise in Manhattan" . Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  17. ↑ Milo, Paul (June 2, 2017). "N.J. daredevil teen arrested for scaling another NYC building". NJ Advance Media for NJ.com. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
  18. ↑ The Associated Press (June 2, 2017). "World Trade Center Climber Arrested at Another High-Rise" . Retrieved June 8, 2017– via NYTimes.com.
  19. ↑ "World Trade Center Climber Turns Self in After Again Scaling Skyscrapers". DNAinfo New York. Archived from the original on March 18, 2017. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
  20. ↑ Godlewski, Nina (June 2, 2017). "Justin Casquejo, Instagram Sensation, Arrested For Climbing Manhattan Skyscraper, Again". International Business Times. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
  21. ↑ Lubin, Byrhian (December 3, 2016). "Teenage daredevil cheats death climbing one of the world's tallest skyscrapers in stomach-churning footage". The Daily Mirror. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  22. ↑ Kenneth Garger, Chad Rachman and Natalie O'Neill (November 27, 2016). "Airhead teen busted for climbing World Trade Center rises again". New York Post. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  23. ↑ Goldman, Jeff (November 28, 2016). "Daredevil N.J. teen charged in WTC stunt dangles from Central Park tower". NJ Advance Media for NJ.com. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
  24. ↑ Wyrich, Andrew (November 28, 2016). "Weehawken teenager who scaled WTC continues to climb". The Record. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
  25. ↑ Journal, Ron Zeitlinger | The Jersey (November 10, 2018). "Weehawken's skyscraper daredevil charged with Manhattan building stunt: report". nj.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  26. ↑ Bureau, ABS-CBN North America News (June 6, 2017). "Fil-Am daredevil arrested, attempted to commit suicide". ABS-CBN News.{{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  27. ↑ Journal, Ron Zeitlinger | The Jersey (December 12, 2018). "Weehawken daredevil calls out NYPD: My rights were violated". nj.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  28. ↑ "Justin Casquejo Gets Plea Deal For Scaling UWS Tower". April 30, 2019.
  29. ↑ Rosenberg, Rebecca (April 29, 2019). "Young daredevil takes plea deal for latest building stunt".
  30. ↑ "5 People Arrested on Top of 72-Story Trump World Tower in NYC". August 11, 2019.
  31. ↑ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  32. ↑ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.