Board of Water Supply. Laying water distribution pipes. Cast-iron pipe being lowered into a trench on Brooklyn's Fifth Avenue as streetcars pass. The contractor, F.V. Smith & Son, arranged with the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT) to carry out the work in 300-foot sections, with the BRT rerouting streetcars until the pipe was laid and trench refilled. All the trench excavation was done by hand, and excess material was carted off in streetcars. May 23, 1912.