A pipe dream it wasn’t; Ancient main bursts: A water main installed back in 1877 failed at Fifth Ave. and 13th St. early Wednesday morning, leaving a wide crater on Fifth Ave. and flooding the area with several feet of water. Some buildings lost electrical power around 1 a.m., and also suffered basement flooding. It took five hours to get the gusher under control. The avenue was closed between 12th and 14th Sts. and service on multiple subway lines was disrupted as water seeped underground.
