Well, I thought it gave us a rather intriguing peek into the lives/families of three very different "Sweet 16" year olds.
Of course Autumn, the beautiful spoiled daughter of wealthy parents. An overly doting daddy, and a mother ultimately driven over the edge by jealousy and hatred for what
she thinks her kids have become, and for getting things she doesn't think they deserve. She got one thing right though, when she told Stella that they'd be better off doing "without" - they're definitely better off doing without her. Her anger and hatred had totally consumed her.
Jesse, the hired help for the owner of the racing pigeons. Jesse had a nasty abusive stepfather who felt that Jesse "owed him" because he gave Jesse his last name, even though he wasn't his son. Jesse loses himself amongst the pigeons, finding them an outlet to bestow his love and affection. Love the last scene with he and a smiling Mac, as he's talking about the surviving bird Sadie, named after his mom. "Want to see her fly?" Nice.
Finally, young Reed, and Mac desperately trying once again to connect with him. Loved that Mac tried bribing Reed with cheeseburgers and photos of Claire, and Reed's hesitant but happy smile. Of course, no surprise that Mac gets called away before they can bond, but liked seeing him leave the precious photos of Claire with Reed for "safe keeping".
I found this to be more of a slow paced, introspective ep, than a typical crime solving one, although they do solve the 2 crimes. But I got the impression that the focus was meant to be more on the lives of the teens. Definitely different for CSI NY, but overall, I still enjoyed it, especially seeing everything come together in the end.
Also enjoyed seeing the continuity between Flack/Mac, glad the writers didn't brush the events of 2 weeks ago under the rug. Give that Continuity Fairy a cookie

And speaking of continuity, was surprised to see Mac's FBI gal pal get murdered in the end, looks like they're leaving it open for a future episode.