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(NECN/ABC) - A midtown Manhattan skyscraper that is home to The New York Times became the site of twin daredevil stunts Thursday, with two men scaling the 52-story office tower just hours apart.

The first man, Alain Robert, unfurled a banner as he climbed that said "Global warming kills more people than a 9/11 every week." He was promptly arrested by the NYPD when he made it to the top.

Hours later, a second man made his own ascent up the building - a stunt that drew the attention of hundreds of onlookers, along with TV cameras that captured the drama in real-time. Crowds on the street pressed against police barricades to watch the climb, and people clapped and cheered for him while snapping pictures on their cell phones.

He, too, was taken into custody as he reached the top.

At moments during his ascent, the second climber appeared to slow and tire, and officers awaiting him shouted encouragements from the rooftop and even dangled a rope, which he did not take, police said.

Officers at the scene became concerned that the man might be an emotionally disturbed copycat, and he was taken to a hospital for a psychiatric evaluation, according to police, who identified him as 32-year-old Renaldo Clarke, of Brooklyn. There was no working phone number listed under his name and address.

The building's facade is covered with slats that allowed the men to climb the tower like a ladder.

Robert pumped his fist as he made it to the top, where

Robert's Web site says he has climbed more than 70 skyscrapers around the world. He was arrested in February after climbing a 42-floor building in Sao Paolo, Brazil.

The stunts were staged at the Renzo Piano-designed Times building, just a block south of the busy intersection at Eighth Avenue and 42nd Street, across the street from the Port Authority bus terminal.

Robert said in a news release he was climbing to mark World Environment Day and "to create support for far greater and urgent action from world leaders on global warming."

His Web site says he climbs even though he suffers from vertigo and is "60 percent disabled" from previous accidents. It also says he has been jailed many times but it does not matter because he "would rather stay in a prison than in a hospital."

The second climber wore a T-shirt with the words "Malaria No More," the name of an organization which promotes awareness about malaria and raises money for bed nets. Martin Edlund, a spokesman for the organization, said the climber was not affiliated with the group.

Clarke's Facebook page says he enjoys climbing and lists "xtreme living" among his interests. The page identifies him as an information technology support manager for a Manhattan advertising agency, and it says he is pursuing an undergraduate degree in physics. He did not immediately return an online message.

Reporter Jim Dolan has the story.