A man put on a strip show for parkgoers at Washington Square Park
on Monday when he climbed atop a construction crane and
stripped down to his birthday suit in the shadow of the iconic arch.
The unidentified exhibitionist, who was already shirtless, climbed up a condor crane next to the arch, stood atop its platform and removed his trunks while shouting gibberish and threatening to jump.
“Are you not entertained?” he yelled with his arms outstretched, shouting Russell Crowe’s iconic line from the 2000 film “Gladiator” at spectators below. The naked daredevil was ultimately brought down to safety and arrested at the scene, but not before hundreds gathered to watch the fiasco unfold.
First responders inflated a giant airbag for the man to land on in case he jumped or fell, but were eventually able to get the crane operator to lower the condor until they safely grab and cuff him.
A few people in the crowd said they recognized him from around the park. They said his name is Steve and that he suffers with mental health issues.
Steve isn’t the first man to bare it all in Washington Square Park.
In summer 2020, a naked homeless man who proclaimed to be “Jesus” took up residence in the park’s drained fountain.
Give me a pickup fulla cub scouts with BB guns, we'll get him down for a lot less time and money.
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