Update to ‘93 Bayside murder QPL celebrates 70th
Queens judge orders hearing on new DNA evidence year at Queensbridge
BY BILL PARRY
Queens Public Library
marks the 70th anniversary
of its continued presence at
the Queensbridge Houses,
the largest public housing
complex in the nation, with
the expansion of its Tech
Lab services to four days a
week, as demand for digital
literacy programs grow in
western Queens.
Located at 10-43 41st Ave.
in Long Island City, the Tech
Lab is a hub of innovation and
technology in the community
hosting workshops on a wide
range of tech topics for all
ages, and helps customers
build critical skills to succeed
in school and the workplace.
“Expanding our services
at Queensbridge Houses
Tech Lab will help residents
and others who live nearby
develop the high-demand
skills and knowledge needed
for many positions in today’s
job market,” Queens Public
Library President and CEO
Dennis M. Walcott said. “We
are grateful to the Mayor’s
Office of the Chief Technology
Officer and the New York
City Housing Authority for
partnering with us to narrow
the digital divide by widening
free access to economic and
educational opportunities
for all.”
The Tech Lab offers
tutorials and workshops
on general computer use,
audio and video editing,
graphic design, 3D printing,
web development, computer
programming, and video
game design. It also provides
access to specialized software
like Audacity. Adobe
Creative Suite, QuickBooks
Pro, and Scratch, as well as
to Maker Space, Arduino
microcontrollers, and Little
Bits electronic kits.
“The Queensbridge Tech
Lab is a vital part of making
Queensbridge a model
connected community where
residents have the tools,
skills and spaces to make full
and creative use of the free
broadband service provided
by the city,” Mayor’s Office
of the Chief Technology
Officer Deputy CTO Joshua
Breitbart said. “This library
branch is a proud part of this
community’s history, and we
are thrilled to help make it a
platform for its future.”
This summer, in an effort
to go beyond its walls, the
Lab launched a community
project to explore local urban
ecology and experience
STEM learning in a creative
setting. As part of the
project, on Saturday, July 13,
participants will board the
BioBus, a mobile lab equipped
with microscopes and staffed
by scientists, and analyze
water quality in the area.
“Thanks to our
partnership with the Queens
Public Library, Queensbridge
Houses residents of all ages
have capitalized on having a
tech lab in there community
that has provided digital
literacy programming,”
NYCHA Executive VP Sideya
Sherman said.
Read more at QNS.com.
Reach reporter Bill
Parry by email at bparry@
schnepsmedia.com or by
phone at (718) 260–4538.
BY BILL PARRY
A man convicted in a
notorious Bayside murder
case in 1993 will have a new
day in court after a Queens
judge ruled their may be new
evidence that may exonerate
him, according to attorneys at
The Legal Aid Society.
Michael Robinson, 52, spent
26 years behind bars after he
was convicted of stabbing his
estranged wife, Gwendolyn
Samuels, a home health aide
who was caring for a patient,
89-year-old Elveina Marchon,
at her home in Bayside.
New York State Supreme
Court Justice Stephen
Knopf ordered the hearing
Wednesday morning into
newly discovered DNA that
may exonerate Robinson.
At his 1993 trial, defense
attorneys for Robinson argued
that Samuels’ then-boyfriend
had stabbed and murdered
the victim.
The Queens District
Attorney’s Office relied on the
testimony of two witnesses:
Marchon, who had significant
vision problems and gave
inconsistent accounts of the
incident; and NYPD Officer
Richard Saronka, who found
Samuels’ body upstairs in
Marchon’s Bayside home.
Saronka testified at trial
that Marchon informed him
that the killer was a tall
black man.
During the lineup
identification process,
Marchon did not immediately
identify Robinson and the
NYPD acknowledged that only
one other man in the lineup
was roughly the same age
as Robinson.
Samuels’ father Melvin,
knew both Robinson and
Samuels’ then-boyfriend
and described the former as
being broad and stout and
the latter as a tall, thin black
man. Despite an alibi defense
presented through a number
of family members; testimony
about Samuels’ abusive
relationship with her thenboyfriend;
and conflicting
testimony from Marchon
about her relationship with
Robinson, a jury convicted
him of second degree murder.
On appeal and in postconviction
proceedings,
Robinson filed various
motions for relief in federal
Michael Robinson in his Brooklyn home prior to his 1993 murder
conviction which may be exonerated with new DNA evidence.
and state court. Those motions
were denied. He also paid for,
took and passed a polygraph
examination concerning his
involvement in the case.
In October 2013, Robinson,
acting without an attorney,
sought post-conviction DNA
testing of two blood samples
recovered from the crime
scene and the blood stains
found on Gwendolyn Samuels’
sweater. The court rejected the
motion without a hearing.
On appeal, Legal Aid
began representing Robinson
and persuaded the Appellate
Division, Second Department
that this ruling was in error.
The appellate court sent
the case back to trial court
“for further proceedings to
ascertain whether the subject
DNA evidence exists and, if it
does, for forensic DNA testing
of that evidence.”
After a series of hearings
on the existence, location,
contamination and testability
of evidence in question, it was
determined that the New York
City Office of the Chief Medical
Examiner was in possession of
the materials being sought by
The Legal Aid Society. OCME
subsequently conducted the
requested testing, comparison
and analysis.
OCME did not find any
male DNA on the sweater
and other clothing items that
were submitted, but did find
testable genetic material under
Samuels’ fingernail. OCME
Courtesy of The Legal Aid Society
released the raw data and The
Legal Aid Society contracted
with Cybergenetics, a
renowned and well-respected
bio-information company,
that concluded that a match
between Robinson and the
DNA sample found under the
victim’s fingernail was “78.1
trillion times less probable
than a coincidental match
to an unrelated African-
American person,” a result
that should completely
exonerate Robinson.
“The record in this
case, the case-altering,
exonerating DNA evidence,
the unreliability of the sole
identifying witness and
Mr. Robinson’s compelling
alibi, entirely undermines
the foundation for the 1993
conviction,” said Harold
Ferguson, staff attorney with
the Criminal Appeals Bureau
at The Legal Aid Society.
“While we wish the court
had granted our vacatur
motion outright this morning,
we are looking forward to
a hearing that we believe
will show beyond doubt that
Mr. Robinson is completely
innocent of this crime.”
The hearing will be held
Sept. 18.
Read more at QNS.com.
Reach reporter Bill
Parry by e-mail at bparry@
schnepsmedia.com or by
phone at (718) 260–4538.
Queens Public Library celebrates it 70th year at the
Queensbridge Houses by expanding tech services to residents.
Courtesy of QPL
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