Independent Journalism & Public-Interest Reporting - by Michele Evans

Courts. Due Process. Media Accountability. Public Safety. New York Civic Life

Michele Evans covers New York City courts, criminal-justice procedure, NYPD, FDNY, domestic-violence systems, media accountability, public-interest issues, and advocacy efforts through courthouse observation, public records, legal analysis, and lived-experience reporting.

Evans is an author, independent journalist, and former ESPN technical producer whose work has appeared in The New York Times.

Last updated June 8, 2026

Recent Public-Interest Reporting

Knicks fans were told to arrive early, skip the bags, and maybe head toward Bryant Park - which is funny, because some visitors may have been there first. 👻🏀 A little NBA Finals chaos, a little Midtown security theater, and a little New York ghost history.
🚨 KNICKS FINALS NIGHT IN NYC: WATCH PARTY WHIPLASH 🚨 - With Game 3 at Madison Square Garden, huge crowds expected, prior arrests around fan celebrations, and President Trump reportedly attending, New Yorkers deserve more than last-minute confusion.
🏀 Even Rikers was watching the Knicks - Nearly 2,000 incarcerated New Yorkers reportedly joined watch parties across 44 housing units — a reminder that basketball can cut through walls, cages, and everything this city tries to forget.
❤️‍🩹 Love Time Can’t Erase - A DOC call log gave me back more than numbers. It showed 5,495 calls from Rikers, $523 in jail phone costs before calls became free, and a love story built through monitored lines, missed calls, late nights, and one familiar voice that kept reaching me through the walls.
A Mormon Squatter Story, a Manhattan Lawsuit, and the Strangest Full-Circle Pioneer Moment in New York - Bizarre LDS Church lawsuit over an alleged NYC chapel squatter becomes something stranger: a full-circle Mormon story stretching from Joseph Smith, the Knight family, and upstate New York to a modern Manhattan court fight over refuge, property, and who gets told to leave.
Former NYPD Detective Sentenced to Four Years in COVID Relief Fraud Scheme - When the Help Line Becomes the Hustle. Former NYPD Detective John Bolden was sentenced to four years in federal prison after prosecutors said he helped more than 65 people obtain fraudulent COVID-era PPP loans. The case raises a larger accountability question about public trust, emergency relief, and who gets protected when systems are abused.
Mystery Sealed Hearing in the Luigi Mangione Case Is Exactly Why New York Courts Need More Sunlight - A sealed mystery hearing in the Luigi Mangione case puts Justice Gregory Carro back at the center of a high-stakes courtroom story, raising urgent questions about secrecy, judicial power, and what the public is not being allowed to see.
When PREA Becomes a Weapon on Rikers Island - On Rikers Island, a PREA report can protect someone, or it can be weaponized to threaten, retaliate, separate people, and make names dangerous inside the dorm. This article exposes how a system created for safety can become another source of harm when confidentiality, oversight, and accountability fail.
Rikers Is Still Open. The City Is Still Cutting. And People Inside Are Still Paying the Price.- New York City keeps promising to close Rikers, but people are still inside, still at risk, and still paying the price while the City Council debates DOC budget cuts.
The Rikers Survival Cup: How One Green Mug Became Everything Inside - The green Rikers cup was not just a cup. Inside, it became a coffee mug, noodle bowl, commissary dish, survival tool, status symbol, and one of the most guarded objects in the dorm.
Another Rikers Officer Pleads Guilty, and the Pattern Is the Story - A second correction officer admitted to false workers’ compensation claims tied to use-of-force incidents at Rikers Island. New Yorkers should be furious.
When the Badge Becomes the Threat: NYPD Harassment Lawsuit Raises a Public-Trust Question - A new lawsuit alleges an NYPD officer pulled a gun on a female colleague after repeated sexual harassment, raising serious questions about workplace safety, accountability, and public trust inside the department.
New York’s Parole Reform Fight Is Personal for People Who Have Lived Under Supervision - New York parole reform is moving forward in Albany. As someone recently released from parole supervision, Michele Evans explains why Fair & Timely Parole and Elder Parole are public-safety, reentry, and human dignity issues.
When Domestic Violence Victims Go Silent, New York Must Listen Harder - When domestic violence victims go silent, it is not always refusal. Sometimes silence is survival. A closer look at why Bronx abuse cases are being dropped, and what New York must hear before another woman becomes a statistic.
FDNY Firefighter Arrested After Alleged Unprovoked Attack on NYPD Officer at Queens Hospital - FDNY firefighter charged with felony assault after allegedly punching an NYPD officer inside Queens Hospital Center.
SUNY Educational Justice Fellowship SUNY offers $14,000 opportunity for Formerly Incarcerated and Directly Impacted Students. Applications are due June 5.
Four Men Were Killed While Sleeping Outside. I Remember Why This Story Hit So Hard - The Chinatown murders were not just a crime story. They were a reminder of how exposed a person becomes when the street is their bedroom.
While Everyone Watched Mangione, Another Carro Murder Trial Exposed the Machinery of 100 Centre Street - Justice Gregory Carro’s courtroom is now tied to Mangione, the SoHo Crypto Torture case, Isaac Argro’s murder conviction, and my own lived experience before the same judge.
When the Badge Turns Rat: Mamdani’s Sheriff Shakeup and the Blue Wall Problem - Mamdani’s reported move to replace Anthony Miranda with NYPD whistleblower Edwin Raymond raises bigger questions about policing culture, retaliation, public trust, and why insiders who expose misconduct matter.
🚨Two Months From 18. Five Years Of Control? - Dr. Pamela Buchbinder’s case was turned into true-crime spectacle. But I was a witness, and I know the woman behind the headlines. Now, with her son just two months from turning 18, a five-year protective order request raises a disturbing question: is this protection, or a last-ditch attempt to maintain control?
Another High-Profile Judge Carro Case: Crypto Defendant Accused in SoHo Torture Plot Set for Bond After Year at Rikers - A high-profile crypto kidnapping and torture case before Justice Gregory Carro raises new questions about bail, Rikers, pretrial detention, wealth, and judicial discretion in New York criminal courts.
Rikers Murals Come to Weeksville: Art, Memory, and the Lives We Refuse to Leave Behind - Murals created with young people at Rikers Island are coming to Weeksville Heritage Center, turning art, memory, incarceration, and healing into a powerful public record.
When Pain Has to Ask Permission: What a Migraine Feels Like Inside Rikers - A migraine becomes a window into Rikers, where even basic relief can mean fluorescent lights, crowded dorms, cold benches, hours of waiting, and ibuprofen as the only answer.
The Trump-Epstein Reading Room Turns 3.5 Million Pages Into a Public Reckoning - A Tribeca pop-up exhibit has turned roughly 3.5 million pages of Epstein-related records into a physical monument to secrecy, survivor accountability, and unfinished justice. The “Trump-Epstein” reading room is drawing attention online, but the deeper question is whether the public will get real transparency or just another round of spectacle.
Trump’s Win Over Letitia James Shows Why Americans Are Suspicious of Lawfare - A New York appeals court threw out the massive civil fraud penalty against President Trump, handing him a major win in his fight with Letitia James. The ruling does not erase every part of the case, but it sharpens the larger debate over lawfare, political prosecution, and whether punishment crossed the line from accountability into destruction.
Question for Knicks fans: Did the NYPD overreact outside Madison Square Garden, or was this the only realistic way to keep the streets under control after the Knicks win? - A historic Knicks win sent fans into the streets outside Madison Square Garden, but the celebration quickly became a crowd-control test for New York City, after arrests, barricades, and NYPD warnings.
Knicks Joy Is Taking Over New York. The City Needs a Better Plan Than Shutting the Party Down - The Knicks are going to the NBA Finals, and New York is celebrating. But the chaos around MSG shows a bigger problem: the city cannot just shut down watch parties and pretend fans will disappear. Championship joy needs a public-safety plan, not just barricades.
Staten Island Shipyard Explosion Shows the Hidden Risk Behind New York’s Industrial Waterfront - A deadly explosion at a Staten Island shipyard has left one civilian worker dead, dozens of first responders injured, and a city waiting for answers.
New York’s Assault Problem Is the Warning Sign Behind the Safer-City Headlines - Murders and shootings are down, but felony assaults remain stubbornly high. The question is not whether New York looks safer on paper. The question is who is still getting hurt.
Knicks Fever Meets Crowd Control: NYPD Shuts Down MSG Watch Parties Outside the Garden - NYPD has now blocked outdoor MSG watch parties after crowds outside Madison Square Garden reportedly grew unruly.
When the Uniform Throws the Sign: NYPD Officers, Gang Symbolism, and the Collapse of Public Trust - Two NYPD officers are under internal review after a viral photo allegedly showed them flashing gang signs.
The Knicks Are Winning. Madison Square Garden Is Still Fighting Its Old Court Wars - As the New York Knicks surge through the playoffs, Michele Evans examines the legal and cultural shadow around Madison Square Garden lawsuits.
From Mr. Big Shot to Brooklyn Federal Court: Why the Chauncey Billups Gambling Case Matters Beyond Basketball - Michele Evans previews the federal Operation Royal Flush case involving Chauncey Billups, alleged rigged poker games, NBA fame, organized crime, and the growing collision between professional sports and gambling culture.
New York Should Not Need Another Courtroom Birth to Stop Shackling Pregnant Women - A recent courtroom birth in New York has renewed urgent calls to pass anti-shackling protections and the CARE Act, which would expand medical care and human-rights safeguards for pregnant people in custody.
City Hall Rally Will Honor New Yorkers Who Died in Custody as Advocates Demand Action on NYC Jails - Advocates will rally at City Hall on May 26 to honor New Yorkers who died in custody, including Rajpattie Ramkellawan, and demand urgent action to stop deaths inside NYC jails.
When the Gatekeeper Becomes the Smuggler: A Rikers Officer, Drug-Soaked Papers, and the Corruption Inside the Walls - A Rikers correction officer is accused of taking bribes to smuggle drug-soaked papers into the jail - a case that raises larger questions about corruption, contraband, and who truly controls danger inside the walls of Rikers Island.
The Courthouse Is Crumbling - and So Is New York’s Promise of Justice - An overcrowded, unsanitary courthouse exposes the hidden human cost of New York’s crumbling justice infrastructure. Decay, neglect, and danger inside the buildings where the city claims justice is served.
Trapped in the Belly of the Beast: How a Manhattan Court Elevator Broke an Inmate - and Why the City Paid For It - A harrowing first person account of a courthouse elevator failure at 100 Centre Street, the injury and humiliation that followed, and the medical proof forcing New York City to pay.
The Bed After the Cell - A raw personal essay by Michele Evans on love, trauma, numbness, and the quiet aftermath of surviving the system.
The Counselor Inside Rikers Rehab Dorm - A firsthand account of recovery inside Rikers “A Road Not Taken” program dorm, where counselor Virginia Shepherd led groups, AA meetings, workbooks, and moments of humanity inside a jail never built to heal anyone.
I Saw For Venida, For Kalief at Tribeca. Deion Browder’s Words Are Still With Me - A personal reflection on seeing For Venida, For Kalief at Tribeca, meeting Deion Browder, and how Venida Browder’s poetry, Kalief’s story, and Rikers’ legacy continue to demand public memory and accountability.
Dana Kaplan Has One Job: Close Rikers and Do It Right - Dana Kaplan’s appointment as Rikers closure czar is a defining test of whether New York City can close the jail complex without turning reform into another broken promise. This article examines the urgency, the politics, and the human stakes of closing Rikers the right way.
I Testified to the New York City Council About Rikers. The Record Is Still There - In 2021, Michele Evans testified before the New York City Council about the reality inside Rikers Island. Years later, the public record still preserves what officials were told, what survivors endured, and what the city can no longer claim it did not know.
A Woman Gave Birth in a Brooklyn Courtroom. That Should Shame the Entire System - After a pregnant woman gave birth in Brooklyn Criminal Court, Michele Evans examines how New York’s jail and court systems treat pregnant detainees, the rarely used Rikers mother-baby nursery, and the gap between reform programs on paper and human dignity in practice.
Closing Rikers Should Not Become Another Real Estate Gold Rush - Rikers Island should close, but New Yorkers deserve transparency about who benefits when 413 acres of valuable public land are finally freed. The city must not allow decades of human suffering to become the moral cover for another real estate or infrastructure windfall.
Eric Adams Should Not Get a Pass Because He Helped Trump - A government watchdog is urging Manhattan prosecutors to investigate the dismissed Eric Adams corruption allegations. The federal case may be over, but New York still has an independent interest in whether public office, campaign finance laws, and public trust were compromised.
Securus Should Not Get a New Rikers Contract to Turn Family Calls Into AI Surveillance - New York City already ended the predatory practice of charging Rikers detainees and families for phone calls. It should not now allow Securus to turn those same family connections into AI surveillance, voice monitoring, and another private profit stream.
Press Credentials Are for Reporting, Not Murder Fandom - A city-issued press pass should support public interest reporting, not courthouse spectacle or murder fandom. New York can protect independent journalism while refusing to credential people who appear to celebrate violence instead of reporting the news.
Judge Carro Was My Judge Too. That Is Why I Am Watching the Mangione Trial Closely - Judge Gregory Carro was my judge too, and that experience shapes how I see the power dynamics inside a criminal courtroom. As Luigi Mangione’s case moves forward, I will be watching not only the evidence and rulings, but how the courtroom itself handles pressure, procedure, and the person standing before it.
Hochul Should Sign the SAFE Shelter Act Now. Survivors Should Not Be Harmed Because They Need Shelter Alone. - The SAFE Shelter Act would help single adult survivors access emergency domestic violence shelter without being blocked by reimbursement rules built around family size.
The Take It Down Act Is Now in Force. Survivors Need More Than a Button. - The Take It Down Act gives survivors of nonconsensual intimate-image abuse and AI-generated sexual deepfakes a faster path to demand removal from online platforms.
Two More People Died on Rikers. The Investigation Must Start Before the Moment They Were Found Unresponsive. - Two people died on Rikers Island within roughly 24 hours, raising urgent questions about medical care and oversight inside New York City jails.
Another Woman Dies at Rikers. I Was There When Layleen Polanco Died. How Many Times Must This Pattern Repeat? - A heartbreaking report on the death of Rajpattie Ramkellawan at Rikers Island, and why it echoes the 2019 death of Layleen Polanco.
Judge Carro’s Mangione Ruling Shows Why Courtroom Procedure Matters - Legal analysis of search-and-seizure issues, evidence suppression, and due process in a high-profile New York criminal case.
Harvey Weinstein’s Mistrial Shows Why #MeToo Still Matters - Public-interest report on courtroom accountability, survivor credibility, and the continuing mission of #MeToo.
Gladiator School: What 18 Months on Rikers Island Can Do to a Person - Lived-experience report on Rikers Island, institutional trauma, survival, and the human cost of New York City’s criminal-justice system.
I Said After Day One Trump Was Getting Convicted. The Courtroom Told the Story Before the Verdict Did. - Reflection on attending the first day of Donald Trump’s Manhattan criminal trial, why the courtroom atmosphere immediately signaled conviction, and how lived experience with the New York criminal court system shaped Michele Evans’s early read of the case.

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I cover what happens inside New York City courts, jails, and public systems - especially when official narratives don't match reality. Documents, testimony, and firsthand accounts welcome. Send Tip Now.

*This work operates as an independent oversight hub: documenting courts, media, public systems, survivor policy, and institutional failure through firsthand reporting, legal records, and public-interest analysis.