Newark gets help from state clearing snow; schools to reopen Wednesday

NEWARK, New Jersey (WABC) -- Tuesday was another day without school in Newark as New Jersey's largest city continues to dig out from the snow, with many residents growing increasingly frustrated with unplowed streets.

DOT crews have descended onto the most snow-clogged streets, not plowing, but taking snow away.

"It requires snow removal instead of plowing and salting," said Christopher Tomlin, NJDOT North Region director of operations. "Plowing would make the situation worse."

Tomlin's teams are focusing primarily on roads near schools, to make them accessible for students and buses Wednesday. Crews use front-end loaders to hoist the snow up and into dump trucks that dump it into Independence Park.

Mayor Ras Baraka says every effort is being made to get all the streets passable, but that's not easing the concerns of many residents, particularly those who live on narrow or dead-end streets, some that have yet to see a single plow.

these folks live on tiny, narrow, dead end merchant place. not one plow yet...along a street with major concerns.

"The kids, they can't go to school," one Merchant Place resident said. "It's impossible. We need help, please. "

"We have elderly people, a pregnant woman," another added. "If they need emergency crews here, they can't come."

Meanwhile, Newark police arrested a woman who they say had a man shot for using her snow shovel.

Authorities say a man told them he found the shovel on the sidewalk on Sunday and was using it to clear an elderly neighbor's walkway after a major snowstorm when the woman accused him of stealing her shovel.

The man returned the shovel. He was later walking when he said he was approached by the woman and several males and one of the males shot him in the buttocks on orders from the woman.

Police have charged 36-year-old Saqirah Davis with aggravated assault, weapons counts and conspiracy. Officers are looking for other suspects.