The following is a list of characters from the CBS crime drama television series, CSI: NY. It follows New York criminalists (identified as "the Crime Scene Investigators") working for the New York Police Department (NYPD) as they use physical evidence to solve murders.
Main characters Actor Character Occupation First Episode Final Episode Seasons 123456789 Gary Sinise Mac Taylor Criminalistics DirectorNYPD Day Shift SupervisorHead CSI Detective 1st Grade "Blink" "Today is Life" Main Melina Kanakaredes Stella Bonasera NYPD Day ShiftAssistant SupervisorCSI Detective 1st Grade "Blink" "Vacation Getaway" Main Carmine Giovinazzo Danny Messer NYPD Day ShiftCSI Detective 2nd Grade "Blink" "Today is Life" Main Vanessa Ferlito Aiden Burn NYPD Day ShiftCSI Detective 3rd Grade "Blink" "Heroes" Main Hill Harper Dr. Sheldon Hawkes Former New York CountyMedical Examiner/NYPD CSI Detective 3rd Grade "Blink" "Today is Life" Main Eddie Cahill Don Flack NYPD Day ShiftHomicide Detective 1st Grade "Blink" "Today is Life" Main Anna Belknap Lindsay Monroe Messer NYPD Day ShiftCSI Detective 3rd Grade "Zoo York" "Today is Life" Main Robert Joy Dr. Sid Hammerback New York CountyChief Medical Examiner "Dancing withthe Fishes" "Today is Life" Recurring Main A. J. Buckley Adam Ross NYPD Day ShiftCSI Lab Technician "Bad Beat" "Today is Life" Recurring Main Sela Ward Jo Danville NYPD Day ShiftAssistant SupervisorCSI Detective 1st Grade "The 34th Floor" "Today is Life" Main 1Character first introduced during CSI: Miami episode 2.23 "MIA/NYC NonStop". 2Also in CSI: Miami episode 4.07 "Felony Flight". 3Also in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation episode 13.13 "In Vino Veritas".
Recurring characters Crime lab Technicians Dr. Leonard Giles (played by J. Grant Albrecht in season 1) is a technician in the Toxicology lab. He is a former runner now paralyzed from the waist down. Jane Parsons (played by Sonya Walger in seasons 1–2) is a technician in the DNA lab. Chad Willingham (played by Chad Lindberg in season 1) is a technician in the Ballistics lab. Zack Shannon (played by David Julian Hirsh in season 2) is a tech in the Trace lab. Kendall Novak (played by Bess Wohl in season 4) is a technician in the Trace lab. She has a close relationship with Adam Ross. Haylen Becall (played by Sarah Carter in season 6) is a crime scene cleanup contractor. Despite budget cuts resulting in a hiring freeze, she obtained a New York State Police grant to get her hired as a part-time entry-level lab technician. Adam Ross is afraid she might ultimately replace him.Mitovich, Matt (July 17, 2009). "CSI: NY Adds Sarah Carter to Its Ranks". TV Guide. Retrieved July 20, 2011. The FBI does a background check on her and when she no longer appears, it is assumed that she was hired by them.
Medical examiners Dr. Evan Zao (played by Ron Yuan in season 2) was supposed to replace Dr. Sheldon Hawkes as Medical Examiner after Hawkes took field work as a CSI, but only appears in the first four episodes of season two. He reveals that during his teenage years, he bussed tables at debutante functions (2.03 "Zoo York"). Dr. Marty Pino (played by Jonah Lotan in seasons 2 & 5) appears as a night shift Medical Examiner in season two. He is known for wearing a Giants football jersey under his scrubs. In season five, it is disclosed that Pino became heavily involved in gambling and ran up significant debts and Dr. Sid Hammerback was forced to fire him after Pino was caught forging overtime slips. In episode 5.18 "Point of No Return," Pino's wife, Anabel, is found shot dead. The investigation leads to a drug scheme that Pino was running by creating heroin from the organs of dead drug addicts. In a hostage stand-off, Pino eventually surrenders after being talked down by Hawkes and Sid and is arrested for drug trafficking.Huntley, Kristine (March 19, 2009). Dr. Peyton Driscoll (played by Claire Forlani in seasons 3–4 & 6) joins the team at the beginning of season three as a Medical Examiner originally from London and love interest for Mac.Finn, Natalie (August 10, 2006). "Forlani Hits CSI: NY Scene". E! Online. Retrieved January 20, 2008. Peyton was previously acquainted with Sheldon Hawkes when he was still in the ME's Office. She feels guilty in episode 3.07 "Murder Sings the Blues" when she accidentally lets it slip to Mac that Hawkes knew a murder victim, which results in Hawkes being reprimanded and kicked off the case. In episode 3.20 "What Schemes May Come," Peyton is assaulted at the morgue by two people who steal one of the bodies she is helping to transport. At the end of episode 3.24 "Snow Day" Peyton and Mac fly to London together to meet her family. She does not return and in season four sends Mac a "Dear John" letter. However, Peyton returns for a visit in episode 6.22 "Point of View".Bryant, Adam (April 1, 2010). "CSI: NY Exclusive: Peyton Is Back! Who Will Mac Choose?". TV Guide. Retrieved April 15, 2010. Forlani was expected to return during season seven, however the departure of Melina Kanakaredes and the subsequent casting of Sela Ward changed the producers' intentions.
Police officers Kaile Maka (played by Kelly Hu in seasons 1–2) is a homicide detective who accompanies the CSIs on some of their investigations. In her first appearance, Maka has just returned to duty after being shot in the arm, claiming that she "still sets off metal detectors" (1.11 "Tri-Borough"). Jessica Angell (played by Emmanuelle Vaugier in seasons 3–5) is an NYPD homicide detective and, in season five, girlfriend of Detective Don Flack. She is the third generation in a family of police officers, and the first female. Her badge Is #9521, it was her father's before it was hers. In the season five finale (5.25 "Pay Up") she is shot during a kidnapping and dies during surgery. Flack is badly shaken by her death, which leads to his breakdown in the next season.Batallones, Henrik (May 22, 2009). "The CSI Franchise Case File: When Budget Cuts Cause Death". BuddyTV. Archived from the original on April 13, 2016. Retrieved June 10, 2012. Stanton Gerrard (played by Carmen Argenziano in seasons 3–4) is a tough, no-nonsense cop. At first he is a Captain and Flack's boss. Later he is promoted to Deputy Inspector and uses his position to occasionally interfere with and/or browbeat Mac and his team (3.19 "A Daze of Wine and Roaches" and 3.21 "Past Imperfect"). In episode 4.18 "Admissions", Gerrard shoots and kills a suspect who admitted to raping his 17-year-old daughter. Brigham Sinclair (played by Mykelti Williamson in seasons 3–6) is the Chief of Detectives who first appears when he and Stanton Gerrard lead an internal investigation of Mac Taylor after Mac allegedly throws a serial killer, Clay Dobson, off the roof of a building (3.22 "Cold Reveal"). Jamie Lovato (played by Natalie Martinez in season 9) is a detective in the Homicide Squad. She transferred over from Narcotics when her cover was blown. She works, and flirts, with Flack. By midseason they begin a relationship.Trongo, Rachel (October 11, 2012). "Review: CSI: New York – 'Where There's Smoke...'". CSI Files. Retrieved December 1, 2012.
Family and friends Reed Garrett (played by Kyle Gallner in seasons 3–4 & 6) is the son of Claire Conrad Taylor, Mac's late wife. Claire had given birth to Reed when she was very young, and had given him up for adoption long before she met Mac. At first, Reed mistakenly believes that Stella Bonasera is Claire, having observed the close friendship between Mac and Stella. After he learns the truth, Reed is reluctant to connect with Mac, because Mac is not his biological father (308 "Consequences"). Still, Reed knows that Mac is the only link he has to knowing more about his mother.Huntley, Kristine (November 10, 2006). "CSI: New York – 'Consequences' review". CSI Files. Retrieved July 19, 2011. In episode 3.10 "Sweet 16", Mac visits Reed at his home for Thanksgiving, and gives him photos of Claire. Reed and Mac bond further during the events of episode 3.15 "Some Buried Bones", in which Reed's friend at college is murdered and Reed himself is assaulted. Reed also learns that the body of his mother has, to date, never been recovered from the World Trade Center site. During season four, Reed is shown to have become interested in journalism, putting him at odds with Mac while trying to follow a case concerning a serial killer who uses a taxicab as the murder weapon. He is shown getting unknowingly into the killer's cab at the end of episode 4.19 "Personal Foul", but the driver does not kill him and instead gives Reed information on the "Cabbie Killer" to post on his blog. In episode 4.20 "Taxi", he is kidnapped by the "Cabbie Killer", who wishes to use Reed to get his message across to the public. He is bound and gagged with duct tape and carried in the trunk of the taxi along with another victim. By leaving hints in his online blog, Mac and the team are able to rescue him.Huntley, Kristine (May 15, 2008). "CSI: New York – 'Taxi' review". CSI Files. Retrieved July 20, 2011. Reed returns in episode 6.17 "Pot of Gold", when he requests Mac's help in persuading a fellow net journalist to come forward with incriminating evidence pertaining to a gold fraud case. He is shown to be less aggressive in pursuing news due to his kidnapping by the Cabbie Killer and the psychological trauma he received. Rikki Sandoval (played by Jacqueline Piñol in season 4) is Danny's neighbor. Danny actually is better acquainted with her son Ruben than Rikki herself, serving as a sort of big brother to Ruben. On the day that Danny takes Ruben to church to have his bicycle blessed they run afoul of a bodega robbery and Ruben is killed by accident (4.11 "Child's Play"). Looking to assuage his guilt, Danny begins an affair with Rikki, putting great stress on his relationship with Lindsay. Though Lindsay never mentions or implies that she knows of the affair, Danny believes that she does know. Rikki decides to leave New York for a fresh start, concurring with Danny that their fling had been a mistake (4.19 "Personal Foul"). Jordan Gates (played by Jessalyn Gilsig in season 4) is the New York City mayor's Criminal Justice Coordinator. Her funding helps to rebuild the lab after it is destroyed in a bomb explosion (3.24 "Snow Day"). She has had a good relationship with Mac ever since he helped keep her abusive ex-husband from stalking her. When her ex-husband hires an expert serial killer known only as "Suspect X" to kill Jordan, Mac and his team are able to stop her from succeeding (415 "DOA For A Day"). Quinn Shelby (played by Kristen Dalton in season 4) is a CSI from one of the New Jersey crime labs. She arrives to do a required review of the Crime Lab. Years ago, she had a romantic interest in Mac Taylor and revealed that Mac had kissed her but he regretted it and never took it further out of loyalty to his wife. Samantha Flack (played by Kathleen Munroe in seasons 5, 8–9) is Flack's troubled sister who often gets mixed up in illegal activities (5.01 "Veritas"). Flack has tried numerous times to connect with her but Sam always pushes him away (5.07 "Dead Inside").Ausiello, Michael (July 21, 2008). "Exclusive: CSI: NY Gets 'Beautiful' Cast Addition". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 20, 2011. In episode 805 "Air Apparent", he finds that she can't get work because of her previous arrests and so he calls in a favor and gets her an interview with NYPD Media Relations."Episode #805 'Air Apparent'". The Futon Critic. Retrieved November 4, 2011. Sam and Flack are both shown to be close to their grandmother and in episode 905 "Misconceptions" even with their differences, they go together to scatter their late father's ashes in Yankee Stadium.Trongo, Rachel (November 5, 2012). "Review: CSI: New York – 'Misconceptions'". CSI Files. Retrieved November 11, 2012.