WSKQ-FM

On February 23, 1997, Ali Hassan Abu Kamal, a 69-year-old Palestinian teacher, opened fire on the observation deck of the Empire State Building in Manhattan, New York City. The gunman killed one person and wounded six others before taking his own life with a gunshot to the head.Law enforcement officials ruled it was a premeditated attack after finding notes indicating Abu Kamal's anger over Palestine and Israel. At the time, Abu Kamal's widow stated the shooting spree was not politically motivated, but rooted in his despondency over financial ruin. Ten years after the shooting, Abu Kamal's daughter revealed that she had lied in hiding that her father's actions had in fact been motivated by Palestinian nationalism. Her mother's 1997 account was a cover story fabricated by the Palestinian Authority as Abu Kamal sought revenge against the Americans, the British, and the French for supporting Israel.

On August 24, 2012, a gunman shot and killed a former co-worker outside the Empire State Building in Manhattan, New York City. Following the initial shooting, the gunman, 58-year-old Jeffrey T. Johnson, was fatally shot by police officers after raising his weapon at them. Nine bystanders were wounded by stray bullets fired by the officers and ricocheting debris, but none suffered life-threatening injuries.

WPAT-FM (93.1 FM) – branded "93.1 Amor" – is a radio station that programs both a Spanish AC and tropical radio formats. Licensed to Paterson, New Jersey, the station is owned by the Spanish Broadcasting System and serves the New York metropolitan area. It has studios in Midtown Manhattan, and the transmitter is located at the Empire State Building. WPAT-FM broadcasts in HD.

WKTU (103.5 FM) is a rhythmic-leaning hot AC formatted radio station licensed to Lake Success, New York, a suburb of New York City. WKTU is owned by iHeartMedia and broadcasts from studios in the former AT&T Building in the Tribeca neighborhood of Manhattan; its transmitter is located at the Empire State Building.

WFAN-FM (101.9 FM), is a commercial radio station licensed to New York, New York. Owned by Audacy, Inc., the station simulcasts a sports radio format known as "Sports Radio 66 AM and 101.9 FM", or "The FAN", along with co-owned WFAN 660 AM. Its studios are in the Audacy facility in the Hudson Square neighborhood of Lower Manhattan. WFAN-FM has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 6,000 watts, transmitting from atop the Empire State Building. WFAN-FM broadcasts using HD Radio technology. Its HD2 digital subchannel carries programming from CBS Sports Radio.

WNYC-FM (93.9 MHz) is a non-profit, non-commercial, public radio station licensed to New York City. It is owned by New York Public Radio along with WNYC (AM), Newark, New Jersey-licensed classical music outlet WQXR-FM (105.9 MHz), New Jersey Public Radio, and the Jerome L. Greene Performance Space. New York Public Radio is a not-for-profit corporation, incorporated in 1979, and is a publicly supported organization. The station broadcasts from studios and offices located in the Hudson Square neighborhood in lower Manhattan. WNYC-FM's transmitter is located at the Empire State Building. The station serves the New York metropolitan area.

WAXQ (104.3 FM) is a classic rock-formatted radio station licensed to New York City. WAXQ is owned by iHeartMedia and broadcasts from studios in the former AT&T Building in the Tribeca neighborhood of Manhattan; its transmitter is located at the Empire State Building.

WWPR-FM (105.1 FM) is an urban contemporary music radio station licensed to New York City. WWPR-FM is owned by iHeartMedia and broadcasts from studios in the former AT&T Building in the Tribeca neighborhood of Manhattan; its transmitter is located at the Empire State Building. The station is the flagship station of the nationally syndicated morning show, The Breakfast Club.

WLTW (106.7 FM) is an adult contemporary radio station licensed to New York, New York and serving the New York metropolitan area. WLTW is owned by iHeartMedia and broadcasts from studios in the former AT&T Building in the Tribeca neighborhood of Manhattan; its transmitter is located at the Empire State Building, and the station broadcasts in the HD Radio format.

WTBY-TV (channel 54) is a religious television station licensed to Jersey City, New Jersey, United States, serving the New York City area as an owned-and-operated station of the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN). It is a sister station to Edison, New Jersey–licensed Class A TBN Inspire outlet WDVB-CD (channel 23). Both stations share studios on Union Square in Manhattan and transmitter facilities atop the Empire State Building.

WDVB-CD, virtual channel 23 (UHF digital channel 22), is a low-power, Class A TBN Inspire owned-and-operated television station licensed to Edison, New Jersey, United States, and serving the New York City television market. Owned by the Tustin, California–based Trinity Broadcasting Network, it is sister to Jersey City, New Jersey–licensed TBN owned-and-operated station WTBY-TV (channel 54). The two stations share studios on Union Square in Manhattan and transmitter facilities atop the Empire State Building.

On July 28, 1945, a B-25 Mitchell bomber of the United States Army Air Forces crashed into the north side of the Empire State Building in New York City, while flying in thick fog. The accident killed fourteen people (three crewmen and eleven people in the building), and an estimated twenty-four others were injured. Damage caused by the crash estimated at US$1 million (equivalent to about $16 million in 2022), although the building's structural integrity was not compromised.