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Ernest Manning of Newark directs traffic at the intersection of University Avenue and Court Street in Newark, where the traffic signals were not working Tuesday.

(William Perlman/The Star-Ledger)

Ernest Manning isn’t a traffic cop, but ignore his Raiders baseball cap, blue jeans, and long-sleeved black T-shirt, and he could easily be mistaken for one. Eyes intent on cars approaching him from three directions, he pivoted left and right, front and back, alternating between holding a hand to stop traffic and waving cars on.

Standing at center of the intersection of University Avenue and Court Street today, Manning spent nearly three hours directing traffic before a real officer arrived. Occasionally, he yelled at drivers who weren’t paying attention.

Four traffic signals at the intersection stopped working earlier this morning, Manning said.

According to Kristine Lloyd, a PSE&G spokesperson, there had been a power outage affecting about 43 customers in the area lasting from about 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. After power was restored, she said, it was up to the city to reset any affected traffic signals.

Manning said he and his neighbors had made repeated calls to city agencies. Their efforts, according to Manning, yielded nothing more than a Newark police officer laying down a flare and a broken promise to have a unit sent out to direct traffic.

When the flare died and late-morning traffic started getting heavy, Manning stepped in along with Luther Russell, who lives in a building at the corner. The two worked in tandem for more than two hours before Russell had to leave. Manning kept going alone.

“No lights! Common sense says you stop, look and wait when you see a broken light! The sad thing is, people aren’t stopping.”

Whenever a pedestrian arrived in the intersection, he walked over and kept pace with them as they cross.

“Let the lady cross!” he called to a driver whose car rolled forward.

Manning, who said he was a lifelong Newark resident and 19-and-a-half-year veteran of city’s sanitation department, felt it was his duty to help his neighbors.

“We called the police, traffic and signals, everybody,” he said as he raised a hand, ordering a line of cars heading south on University Avenue to stop for another pedestrian.

He stepped closer to her corner and beckoned the woman forward with his free hand. Looking over his shoulder, he called out for cars traveling east and west on Court Street to drive on.

The driver of one car, an Essex County College police cruiser, paused long enough to say, “You’re doing a good job here” before driving off.

“But we need your help!” Manning called after him.

Some passing cars tooted their appreciation. Other drivers stopped to offer advice. A garbage truck lumbered by, and Manning saluted his colleague.

Twenty minutes after the Essex County College police officer had gone, the driver of a Newark Police van stared hard when Manning ordered another line of cars on Court Street to halt. But he stopped. And he drove on, without speaking, after Manning let traffic resume.

On the other side of Court Street, the driver of a blue and yellow city of Newark van nodded when Manning pointed out the broken lights and asked for help. Then he drove away, too.

“It’s the most dangerous corner in Newark,” Manning said when asked why he was doing it. “How many accidents have you seen here?”

Eventually, Newark police officers arrived.

“We got the initial call at 12:52, and a unit was dispatched,” said Newark Police spokesperson, Sgt. Ronald Glover. He said that he and a motorcycle officer arrived on the scene within minutes of receiving the call. “We didn’t get a call at 10:30 a.m.” he said, noting the importance of contacting authorities quickly. “I’m just glad no one got hurt or injured.”

Two traffic and signals employees arrived to repair the signals about 15 minutes after the police arrived, Russell said in a telephone interview.