A group of students and professors say they want to create a FaceDate company after testing the new app on campus. Watch video

NEWARK -- Relationships may not be all about looks, but initial attractions are.

That's the underlying theory behind a new dating app - "FaceDate" - a group of students and professors at the New Jersey Institute of Technology are in the midst of developing.

The app uses facial recognition technology to match users with people in their area they might find attractive.

FaceDate users upload photos of themselves and pictures of celebrities or others they think are good looking. The app pairs potential daters who are attracted to each other, based on the appearance data derived from the photos both users uploaded.

Other dating apps on the market are text-based, with matches made according to personality and other information users upload, the creators said. FaceDate's initial pairings are based on photos.

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"It's not all about the facial look, but that's the starting point," said Hillol Debnath, one of the Ph.D. students who helped develop the app.

"Once you have a match, you get to know the person" via a messaging platform and additional profile details that couples can see once they've been matched, he said.

Debnath has spent about a year working on the app with fellow Ph.D. students Nafize Paiker and Jianchen Shan, master's student Pradymna Neog, and Professor Cristian Borcea. The group has applied for a patent on the app, and is planning to roll out a test version of it to the NJIT student body soon.

Borcea compared the test run to the way Facebook started, opening the platform at first to Harvard students only. Eventually, he said, the group hopes to form a company, look for investors and offer the app to the public.

Though Borcea said he has never gotten to the point before where a student-developed product was brought to market, he said he has overseen the development of many that would be viable.

"In general, our research is quite practical," he said.

Borcea said FaceDate started with a National Science Foundation grant that had to be used to develop a cloud-based application. After one of the students mentioned a dating app idea, the group fine tuned it, and built the infrastructure.

The app is location-based and focused on privacy. Users can't see other profiles unless both of them have identified appearance preferences that match each other.

If it's rolled out as planned, Borcea said the result will be "the introduction of people who might not have met otherwise, but who would be interested in getting to know one another."

Jessica Mazzola may be reached at jmazzola@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessMazzola. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

The group is among 36 American students who were selected for the 2017 class of Gates Cambridge Scholars at the University of Cambridge.

Four New Jersey students have won a prestigious scholarship and will be heading to graduate school in England.

The group is among 36 American students who were selected for the 2017 class of Gates Cambridge Scholars at the University of Cambridge, according to a press release from the foundation.

• Penina Krieger studied at Princeton University after graduating from Torah Academy in Wynnewood, Pa. Krieger will be studying biological science at Cambridge.
• Chelsie Richie, who graduated from Rutgers University, will be pursuing African studies at Cambridge. She attended Irvington High School.
• Natasha Turkmani will focus on energy technologies. The Princeton graduate studied at the National Cathedral School in Washington, D.C.
• Charlotte Williams, attended Princeton Day School before graduating from Princeton University. She will be studying archeology at Cambridge.

The scholarship is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and recognizes both academic achievement and social leadership.

About 800 American candidates applied for the 2017 scholarship.

Rajeev Dhir may be reached at rdhir@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @googasmammoo. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Three people in the building when flames sparked late Monday.

IRVINGTON -- Firefighters extinguished a fire at an Eastern Parkway residence in Irvington late Monday, fire officials said.

Crews responded shortly after 11 p.m. to the single family home, which is attached to a church, near Highland Terrace, according to Irvington Fire Chief Antonio Gary. One person was trying to douse the flames on the second floor with a fire extinguisher.

Township crews declared the fire under control shortly before 11:30 p.m., the chief said. Three people in the 2 1/2-story residence declined assistance from the Red Cross.

Officials said the flames were apparently contained and did not damage the church.

There were no reported injuries, Gary added. Officials were investigating what sparked the fire.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc and on Facebook. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Jeep used in the holdup found in Newark, police say.

MAPLEWOOD -- A masked gunman robbed an Irvington Avenue convenience store in Maplewood, township police said Tuesday.

The assailant pulled a handgun and demanded money from the cash registers at a 7-Eleven around 2:25 a.m. Friday, according to Sgt. Christopher Black. There were no injuries in the holdup.

The robber escaped in a red Jeep, which was last seen traveling into Irvington, police said. The Jeep was later found in Newark. Additional details were not immediately released.

The same 7-Eleven store was also robbed at gunpoint in September.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc and on Facebook. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Police say 18-year-old man threatened with knife and robbed.

NEWARK -- Detectives on Tuesday arrested two men who were wanted for a separate shooting and armed robbery in Newark, authorities said.

Jose L. Rodriguez, 29, a city resident, was charged with aggravated assault and weapons offenses in the Jan. 30 shooting at the Stephen Crane Village public housing complex in the city's North Ward, according to Newark Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose.

A 23-year-old Newark man was wounded in the attack shortly before 4 p.m., authorities said in a statement. The victim was treated for his injuries at University Hospital and later released.

Masked gunman robs Maplewood store

Detectives assigned to the Newark police division's Fugitive Apprehension Team arrested Rodriguez without incident, according to authorities.

Ambrose also announced the fugitive unit arrested Jihad Rudd, 29, of Newark, on charges of robbery and weapons offenses for a robbery Friday in the city's Central Ward.

In that holdup, police said an 18-year-old man was threatened with a knife and robbed at gunpoint on 17th Avenue. Cash and unspecified personal items were reported stolen.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc and on Facebook. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Gov. Chris Christie conditionally vetoed the city's plan to cut payroll taxes for businesses that hire majority Newark residents.

NEWARK - Gov. Chris Christie has conditionally vetoed a plan by the city to cut payroll taxes for businesses that hire Newark residents for more than 50 percent of their workforce. 

Newark is the only city in the state that leverages a 1 percent payroll tax on its businesses. Last month, the City Council approved waiving the employer tax for Newark businesses as long as more than 50 percent of the staff is from the city. But the measure must garner approval by the state because it impacts municipal tax revenue. 

Christie said he supported the intention but could not allow the city to "act irresponsibly while receiving significant taxpayer-funded aid," he wrote in his conditional veto on Feb. 6. He recommended requiring the Department of Community Affairs to approve any payroll tax reduction. 

"It's going to be cumbersome and monotonous but it's better than zero," Mayor Ras Baraka said during an editorial board meeting with The Star-Ledger last week. 

About 18 percent of Newark jobs go to Newark residents, Baraka said -- a number he's working to dramatically boost. 

In his veto, Christie said he wanted to ensure Newark's budget is not impacted significantly.

Newark is under state supervision and received $9.8 million in transitional aid last year to help close its budget gap. In 2015, the payroll tax raked in $48.8 million -- about 7.2 percent of the city's revenues.

If the plan is ultimately approved, it will likely benefit small- and medium-sized businesses, city officials said. 

"The companies that contribute the lion share to our payroll tax will never make that number: Prudential, Panasonic, Verizon, Horizon," Baraka said. "All these companies they just don't have the capacity to do this, they pay most of the payroll tax."

Karen Yi may be reached at kyi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @karen_yi or on Facebook. 

Tariq Kyam, formerly known as Raymond Perry, still faces charges in connection with five other robberies and a homicide he allegedly committed during a February 2009 crime spree.

NEWARK -- After spending nearly eight years in the Essex County Correctional Facility on charges from a violent 2009 crime spree, Tariq Kyam got a bit of vindication Monday from a jury of his peers, who acquitted him of charges that he robbed a Bloomfield convenience store.

Authorities alleged Kyam, formerly known as Raymond Perry, was one of two men who robbed the A&L Deli at gunpoint on Feb. 6, 2009, part of a wave of robberies investigators said ended with the fatal shooting of a 29-year-old Boonton resident at a Verona gas station.

But the jury ultimately found Kyam, 51, not guilty of all charges in the Bloomfield robbery, according to Katherine Carter, a spokesperson for the Essex County Prosecutor's Office.

"We are disappointed with the outcome, but we respect the jury's verdict," Carter said in an email Monday.

Charged in connection with six robberies and the homicide, Kyam previously won a motion to sever the crimes into separate trials. Two subsequent trials, on murder charges for the killing of Daniel Pritchard during the robbery of a Sunoco gas station in Verona, ended in hung juries.

The second suspect in the crime, David Fate, has since pleaded guilty to robbery charges and is awaiting sentencing, having testified at Kyam's first two trials in Pritchard's slaying.

Kyam's acquittal in the A&L Deli robbery case came more than a week after he took the stand in his own defense Feb. 1, denying any involvement in the heist.

Assistant Prosecutor Brian Matthews had argued witness IDs made by men inside the store, a gun found at Kyam's residence during his arrest and a black bag taken from one of the victims -- also found inside Kyam's home -- were "overwhelming" proof of his guilt.

Kyam admitted to knowing Fate, and testified that the two had gone shopping in New York City with another man. The credit cards they used, according to other testimony, had been taken from the victims of the A&L Deli robbery.

But with Kyam on the stand, public defender John McMahon introduced surveillance, pointing out that there weren't any documented instances of Kyam making purchases with the stolen cards.

Kyam also denied knowingly possessing the gun -- which police had said he was trying to stuff into the couch when they burst in -- or the black bag, which he said was left at his home by Fate.

Man charged in violent robbery spree takes the stand

In his summations, McMahon challenged the shopkeeper's ID of his client, arguing Kyam, who lived in Newark, would have been unlikely to visit the Bloomfield store enough to be recognized as a regular customer, as the man had said.

"There's too much doubt here, and that's really where we end," McMahon said.

Kyam -- who still faces charges in Pritchard's slayings and the other robberies -- remains jailed in lieu of $1.4 million bail, according to jail records.

"At this juncture, we are reviewing the remaining five robberies and the Verona murder of Daniel Pritchard with an eye toward going forward in the future," Carter said.

Thomas Moriarty may be reached at tmoriarty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ThomasDMoriarty. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

A Carteret man was sentenced to eight years in prison for trying to distribute ethylone imported from China.

NEWARK -- A 38-year-old New Jersey man was sentenced to eight years in prison Tuesday for conspiracy to distribute nearly 9 pounds of an illegal synthetic drug from China to New Jersey.

Thomas Seymore, 38, of Carteret, was sentenced in federal court in Newark after previously pleading guilty in October to one count of conspiring to distribute ethylone -- a so-called designer drug commonly referred to as "bath salts," the U.S. attorney's office said.

U.S. District Court Judge Katharine S. Hayden issued Seymore's sentence on Tuesday, which included three years supervision upon his release.

In June 2014, Seymore helped arrange for the nearly 9 pounds of ethylone -- which stimulates the nervous system and can cause hallucinogenic effects -- to be ordered from China and shipped to Teaneck, prosecutors said.

Seymore had conspired to import the drug with 33-year-old Michael Correa, of Rahway, who previously pleaded guilty to his role in the matter.

Correa was sentenced in December to nearly five years in prison.

Spencer Kent may be reached at skent@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerMKent. Find the Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Cocaine, marijuana also seized, according to police.

Furad Fleming (Dept of Public Safety) 

NEWARK -- An 18-year-old man was charged with drug distribution after Newark police found him with heroin packets and other narcotics in a vehicle stop, authorities said Tuesday.

Police stopped a Jeep Grand Cherokee late Sunday morning in the city's Central Ward and officers smelled "a strong odor" of marijuana coming from the vehicle, according to Newark Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose.

The front seat passenger, Furad Fleming, had 548 glassine envelopes of heroin, 18 clear vials of cocaine, a plastic bag of marijuana and $380, Ambrose announced in a statement.

Fleming, of Newark, was charged with offenses including distribution of drugs near a public park and on school property.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc and on Facebook. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Lisa Salberg says she wanted to preserve her old heart to use it as a teaching tool and raise awareness about her heart disease.

NEWARK -- "You will hold my heart in your hands, girl!" Lisa Salberg said to one of her nurses at Newark Beth Israel hours before she was discharged on Valentine's Day.  

Salberg meant what she said -- quite literally.

Before the 48-year-old Rockaway Township resident received her heart transplant on Feb. 2, she had a rare request for her doctors: Could she keep her old heart after surgery? 

Lisa Salberg holding her frozen heart at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center. (Courtesy of Lisa Salberg) 

"I sat there and I was speechless," said Dr. Margarita Camacho, surgical director of the cardiac transplant and mechanical heart program at the hospital. She said she's transplanted more than 500 hearts in her 23-year career and, "I have never had anybody ask me if they could have their heart at the end of their operation."

Salberg told her she wanted to use her heart -- long-affected by a disease known as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, or HCM, in which heart muscles are abnormally thick -- as a way to educate others. 

"I can actually show people what this disease looks like," Salberg said. "Why we look so normal from the outside but our hearts are really built wrong on the inside."

Salberg was given the go-ahead. As she waited 71 days on the donors list to be matched she made plans to send her old heart to a specialist in Ohio who would encase it in plastic so it could be preserved forever. 

"I'm going to have a beautiful teaching tool," said Salberg, who founded The Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Association, an international organization that helps patients with the disease. Salberg was diagnosed with the disease when she was 12, and started the association after her sister died from it in 1995. 

Salberg said HCM has a prevalence of 1 in 300 in the general population. About 625,000 Americans have the condition.

Group aims to reduce sudden cardiac deaths

Four days after Salberg's surgery, Dr. Camacho brought out her frozen heart for Salberg to hold before shipping (via FedEx) to Ohio.

"I held her in my hands and I thanked her," Salberg said, adding she was thrown by how heavy her heart felt. "She shouldn't have lasted as long as she did."

The heart is in Ohio and will be ready in four months. Salberg said she has plans to use 3D printers to replicate her heart. 

"I do think it would be a useful tool in the process of educating the community," said Dr. Mark Zucker, director of the Cardiothoracic Transplantation Program, who worked with Salberg through her association prior to her treatment at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center. "Lisa is one of the individuals who takes matters into her own hands."

When Salberg woke up at the hospital after her surgery, she said for the first time since she was 12 years old, her heart felt still. She could no longer constantly feel her heart beat. 

"It was quiet and it was peaceful," Salberg told NJ Advance Media hours before leaving the hospital. "I've never known what it's like to have a normal, healthy heart." 

She said her husband had plans to cook her a lobster dinner for Valentine's Day. "I'm going to cuddle up with my family on my couch and enjoy being home," she said. 

Karen Yi may be reached at kyi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @karen_yi or on Facebook. 

Meet the members of one of New Jersey's most exclusive wrestling clubs -- the undefeated as of Feb. 14

The new lease at 765 Broad Street will save $2.4 million a year.

NEWARK -- The Newark School District is moving out of Cedar Street. 

The School Advisory Board on Monday approved a $42.5 million, 16-year lease to relocate administrative headquarters to 765 Broad Street this summer. District officials said the move would save about $2.4 million a year after the district's current lease at 2 Cedar Street ends July 31.

The board voted 7-2 to approve the lease agreement with NJ Urban Realty Partners, LLC, a week after it failed to pass the measure.

"I understand there's a gap in our budget," said board member Dashay Carter, who voted in favor of the lease after initially voting no because she wanted more time to review the numbers. "I felt it was in the best interests of students in Newark ... we couldn't afford not to save this money."

Carter said she still believed the district should own its building in the future. The district has rented the Cedar Street offices since 1990.

"Right now we have to do what's best, we have to crawl before we walk," Carter said.

The lease gives the district the option to buy after 12 years and first dibs if the building's owners choose to sell, said board member Marques-Aquil Lewis, who also voted for the lease.

"This is a long time coming for us," Lewis said. "What I love about this the most is we're cutting, we're slimming -- that's more money going into the classroom, more money saving people's jobs."

Slightly smaller than current headquarters, the leased space is four floors and 100,000 square feet. The space is fully furnished and includes built-in work stations, district officials said. The district also plans to include a family engagement center and science lab and technology center. 

"We're going to be family-friendly," Lewis said.

It's not clear what the district's budget gap will look like; school district funding numbers are expected later this month.

Karen Yi may be reached at kyi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @karen_yi or on Facebook. 

James S. Gutierrez, known as "Bad News," pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo for his alleged involvement in distributing crack-cocaine.

NEWARK -- A drug wholesaler for the Grape Street Crips in Newark pleaded guilty to racketeering and drug trafficking charges on Tuesday, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman said. 

James S. Gutierrez, known as "Bad News," pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo for his role in distributing crack-cocaine in the city, authorities said.

The Crips control drug trafficking in various parts of Newark, according to authorities. Gutierrez and others accepted orders and supplied drugs to other gang members and distributors, authorities said. 

Fishman's office said gang members used "community guns" that were easily accessible to protect their territory. 

During the investigation, authorities recovered several weapons including a .410 caliber assault rifle, a .45 caliber Thompson semi-automatic carbine, a 7.62 caliber assault rifle and other semi-automatic handguns. 

Under Gutierrez's plea, he will be sentenced to between 10 and 14 years in prison, and five years of supervised release, officials said. He will be sentenced May 22. 

Members of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI, Essex County Sheriff's Office, Essex County Prosecutors Office and Newark Police helped in the investigation.

Karen Yi may be reached at kyi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @karen_yi or on Facebook. 

The best first-year players in girls basketball

The truck flipped over near Elizabeth Avenue in Newark

NEWARK -- Traffic is beginning to ease after a dump truck on Interstate 78 overturned in Newark earlier Wednesday morning, State Police said.

The truck was traveling east in the local lanes at 6:25 a.m. when it overturned onto the shoulder at milepost 55.8 near Elizabeth Avenue (exit 56), Trooper Lawrence Peele said.

The driver was taken to a local hospital with injuries Peele said were not life threatening.

Delays are about 15-20 minutes as of 10:10 a.m, according to 511nj.com.

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

A look at 50 of the best sophomore girls basketball players in N.J.

Paramus Catholic alum Jabrill Peppers slipped in the latest mock draft, but other N.J. players jumped up the board.

Paramus Catholic alumnus Jabrill Peppers experienced a meteoric rise this fall, playing his way into Heisman Trophy consideration.

But now, on the eve of the NFL Combine, his draft stock may be slipping.

ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. slotted Peppers in at No. 32 – the final pick of the first round – in his latest mock draft on Wednesday. That pick belongs to the New England Patriots.

That's a big departure from where Peppers sat about a month ago, when Kiper projected he'd go No. 16 to the Baltimore Ravens. 

Apparently, the slide has something to do with Peppers' greatest strength for Michigan this past fall: his versatility.

"Peppers is still a bit of a mystery in terms of projection -- teams are doing a lot of homework and trying to figure out how and where he'll fit," Kiper wrote in his latest projection. "But I know a good place to land for a player who can do just about anything but just needs a coaching staff that can be creative and use his instincts. Jim Harbaugh will be doing a lot of selling on Peppers' behalf, and perhaps the Patriots will listen."

Kiper's new mock draft wasn't all bad news for New Jerseyans, though. Cedar Grove alum David Njoku is now projected to go to the Dolphins at No. 22, while Haddon Heights' Haason Reddick is penciled in with the Steelers at No. 30.

Matt Stypulkoski may be reached at mstypulkoski@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @M_Stypulkoski. Like NJ.com High School Sports on Facebook.

A coalition of unions, workers groups and other advocates gathered in Newark on Wednesday to urge the Senate to reject President Trump's pick for Secretary of Labor. Watch video

NEWARK -- Hours before Andrew Puzder officially withdrew as President Trump's labor secretary nominee, workers and union leaders marched in Newark on Wednesday to demand Senators reject his confirmation.

"It would be disastrous for working people in this country," said Kevin Brown, vice president of the SEIU 32BJ labor union and the state's director. "Trump promised to help average working families and he picked the exact opposite, antithetical person."

An email to Puzder's spokesperson was not immediately returned. Puzder, fast-food executive, told the Associated Press in a statement he was "honored to have been considered by President Donald Trump to lead the Department of Labor and put America's workers and businesses back on a path to sustainable prosperity."

Puzder had faced increasing pressure from Republicans over his hiring of an undocumented worker. 

Brown said he was glad Puzder was no longer in the running for such a critical post. His confirmation hearing was scheduled for Thursday morning. 

"We welcome the news that Trump's anti-labor nominee has folded under national pressure and public outcry," Analilia Mejia, executive director of New Jersey Working Families Alliance, said. 

Earlier in the day, office cleaners, food service workers, airport workers and retail workers gathered outside City Hall and marched down Broad Street, hoping to derail Puzder's confirmation. 

Brown said Puzder opposes raising the minimum wage and would go against the Department of Labor's core mission. 

"It's there to help workers not to help bosses, Andrew Pudzer is all about the bosses," he said. 

Puzder is the CEO of CKE Restaurants, which owns or franchises fast-food chains Carl's Jr. and Hardee's. According to Puzder's website, his company employs more than 75,000.

Both Democratic N.J. Sens. Cory Booker and Robert Menendez previously said they would vote against on Puzder. 

The Associated Press contributed. 

Karen Yi may be reached at kyi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @karen_yi or on Facebook. 

Police sergeant, suspect sent to hospital.

Amir Sinclair Copeland (Photo: Dept. of Public Safety) 

NEWARK -- A Newark police sergeant jumped into the bitterly cold Passaic River to rescue a suspect who tried to escape from officers and plunged into the water, authorities said Wednesday.

Police spotted a stolen Chrysler Town and Country minivan with two suspects inside who were reportedly seen tampering with vehicles in late Tuesday night, according to Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose. The driver, Amir Sinclair Copeland, 24, drove off when officers tried to pull him over.

The pair ran from the minivan near McCarter Highway and Center Street, according to authorities. Copeland jumped into the nearby river while his passenger ran toward Broad Street and escaped.

Copeland's head went under the water and he appeared to be drowning, leading Sgt. Juan Gonzalez to jump into the river, swim to the suspect and bring him to safety, police said.

"Rather than waiting for a boat or raft to arrive, Sergeant Gonzalez risked his own life to ensure that Copeland would survive," Ambrose added in a statement. "Jumping into the icy Passaic River, swimming out to save the suspect and pulling him to safety is nothing short of heroic."

Copeland was left hospitalized for having water in his lungs, Ambrose said. The sergeant was released from University Hospital after being treated for hypothermia.

Authorities charged Copeland with receiving stolen property, eluding, resisting arrest and weapons offenses. Ambrose said officers discovered a replica handgun and several license plates in the minivan.

The water temperature in the Passaic River in Newark was about 36 degrees Tuesday night, according to the National Weather Service's Middle Atlantic River Forecast Center.

In August, a man fled from Harrison police, jumped into the Passaic River and climbed into a drain pipe on the Newark side. He has not been located and it remains unclear if he survived the escape.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc and on Facebook. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Lots of people have lots of memories from winter that aren't necessarily of the 'winter wonderland' variety.

My sister and I used to call it "atomic snow."

After a reasonably substantial snowfall late in winter, the plows in Vineland would clear the main shopping district of Landis Avenue and the parking lots of local department stores.

Now imagine all that snow piled around the base of the traffic light with just the light peeking out. For that matter, try to imagine concrete traffic lights in the middle of the road today.Courtesy of the Daily Journal 

With nowhere else to put it, they'd create massive piles of snow; in the case of Landis Avenue, they'd often push the snow around the traffic light standards, concrete supports in the middle of the road.

In many cases, those piles would still be there come spring.

By that time, the snow would've taken on a greyish tone, exacerbated by Vineland's use of cinders from the electric company spread for traction on the streets and lots. It was an odd dichotomy, the trees beginning to bud and the snow piles stubbornly refusing to go away.

MORE: Vintage photos around New Jersey

Lots of people have lots of memories from winter that aren't necessarily of the 'winter wonderland' variety, like the car on the street completely buried in snow because the owner was the only one not to join the communal dig-out. Before snow blowers, there was the point-of-no-return reached after a heavy snowfall when the strongest shovelers couldn't throw the snow over the piles they'd created themselves.

Here's a second gallery this year of vintage photos of wintertime in New Jersey. Enable captions to read about each one. And here's a link to the earlier one.

Greg Hatala may be reached at ghatala@starledger.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregHatala. Find Greg Hatala on Facebook.