2. The General Society of Mechanics & Tradesmen

The General Society of Mechanics & Tradesmen is the second oldest library in New York City and listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It appears in a scene where Linda Fairstein, then head of the Sex Crimes unit of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office meets prosector Elizabeth Lederer (who still works at DA’s office to this day) to convince her to prosecute the case.

Lederer points out the contradiction in the confessions and the lack of physical evidence. Linda says they just need “one of these little shits to tie this whole thing together,” which turns out to be Korey Wise, who was not on the list of suspects rounded up by the NYPD eventually but went down to the police station to support Salaam when he was taken in. Because he was already 16, compared to the others who were 14 and 15, he was tried as an adult and served the longest sentence of the five. It would be Wise who would encounter Matias Reyes first at Rikers Island, and then at the Auburn Correctional Facility – leading to the eventual reversal of all the convictions for the five men.