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WE’RE MAKING A BOOK ABOUT NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORKERS, AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH THEIR MOST BELOVED FOOD.
BY FIVE NEW YORKERS
ELEGANTE PIZZERIA • BAY RIDGE
This is a book about pizza, but not about food. The New York
Pizza Project is the work of five New Yorkers who set out to
capture the stories behind the slices.
Like many New Yorkers, we have a special connection to
pizza, particularly to the neighborhood pizza places we grew
up going to—the afterschool hangout, the late-night-hole-in-
the-wall, the shop where we first learned to fold a slice.
We’re hitting up pizza places throughout the five boroughs,
recording interviews and snapping photos. The result is a
mosaic of portraits and anecdotes that highlight the unique
relationship between New Yorkers, their city, and their
iconic food.
ThePREMISE
CATEGORIESFO U R
EATERS SHOP BLOCK MAKERSThe The The The
The M A K E R SBehind every slice is the story of a pizza maker. We
get the lowdown from the men and women who spend
their lives kneading the dough, perfecting the sauce,
and paying the bills. For some it’s a dream job, for
others it’s simply the best way to earn a living. For
everyone it’s hard work.
SAL • MAKER • PUGSLEY PIZZA• ARTHUR AVENUE
“ This is part of New York. You can’t take away the slice of
pizza from the city of New York and the culinary history
of this town. It’s part and parcel of who we are. And its
non-discriminatory. ‘Gimme a slice of that, gimme a slice
of that, gimme a slice now!’ This is the world that we
created. So there are the guys that say ‘I’ll have ten pizzas
to go,’ and the guys that say ‘Gimme a slice!’ A little poor
urchin like in David Copperfield, but instead of porridge,
its ‘Gimme a slice, please...’ We’ve satisfied the need, and
Patsy was the master at this, of what the people needed.”
JOHN • OWNER • PATSY’S PIZZERIA • EAST HARLEM
“It’s part and parcel of
who we are”
“ When you do things, it’s gotta come from the heart. In the
end, the food tastes better. I don’t know why, but it does.
If you’re someone who has that passion, then the food will
taste better. It’s cooked with love. It’s that touch that makes
the masterpiece.”
FRANK • MAKER
ROSELLA’S PIZZERIA • FINANCIAL DISTRICT
“It’s that touch
that makes the
masterpiece”
TONY AND ROSE • MAKERS • PHIL’S PIZZA • WEST VILLAGE
TONY• MAKER • ELEGANTE PIZZERIA • BAY RIDGE
“ 45 years. Same place. Nothing’s changed. No boss,
no nothing. When I got started, it was 15 cents a
slice...1963... I have two boys and granddaughters and
grandsons...they are students. Immigrants start pizza
places and restaurants. Students start businesses...
I work 12 or 15 hours a day, you know? Seven days
a week. No holiday, no nothing.”
GEORGE • MAKER
GEORGE’S PIZZA • WASHINGTON HEIGHTS
“Immigrants start pizza places and restaurants”
“ I was a construction guy over there in Napoli. I was in
the army first, for one year, and after that, I was out.
I moved here when I was 24 and was in the bread busi
ness for 12 years. I went into the pizza business and
bought this pizza shop because I had four kids and
bread is a lot of time. You work all night and part of
the day. So I figured with pizza, you know, you can
live a little bit.”
CARMINE • MAKER
CARMINE’S ORIGINAL PIZZA • GREENPOINT
“So I figured with pizza, you know,you can live a bit.”
“ My husband started. Then me. Then my whole family
started. My kids. Everyone. We wanted to do everything by
family. That’s why we are the best. We don’t trust employees.
That’s the reason it’ s all family run.”
ROSE • MAKER
JOHN’S PIZZERIA • ELMHURST
“WE WANTED TO DO EVERYTHING BY FAMILY”
“ I spend two days a week with my family. When I can’t
go home, they come here. Sometimes on my birthday
they come here. What are you gonna do? Work is work...
When I came to the United States I was 13 years old.
I started in the place where they made the movie
Saturday Night Fever, Lenny’s Pizza in Bensonhurst,
that’s where I was washing dishes and making
deliveries..”
LORENZO • MAKER
NEW PIZZA TOWN • UPPER WEST SIDE
“What are you gonna do?
Work is work”
The EATERSGrabbing a slice is a New York tradition. It’s a quick,
inexpensive, and convenient experience shared by
everyone from the unemployed to the investment banker.
We talk with people as they grab a slice and ask them
about their city, its pizza, and everything in between.
ALEXIS, ANDREW, ANGELINA, DANIELLE • EATERS ROCCO’S PIZZERIA • BAY RIDGE
“ I’ve been coming to this place for 40 years. I used to
be part of a group of four or five people that would
come here late at night ... a little club of us and we used
to meet at twelve or one in the morning. One was a
Japanese lady, one guy worked for Con Edison, one was
myself, and one was a realtor, and we would just come
in here and talk, and hang out all night.”
MICHAEL • EATER • ITALIAN VILLAGE PIZZA RESTAURANT
UPPER EAST SIDE
“WE WOULD JUST COME IN HERE AND TALK, AND HANG OUT ALL NIGHT”
“ I happen to work two blocks away and I’m on my way
home back to Prospect Heights and I’m too hungry
to get on the train without eating something, so pizza
is an easy thing to eat. When I get home, I’ll have
something for dinner.”
CHRIS • EATER
ROSA’S PIZZA • FASHION DISTRICT
“I’m too hungry to geton the train without
eating something”
ANTHONY • EATER • NEW YORK PIZZA SUPREMA • MIDTOWN, MANHATTAN
CHRISTINA • EATER • FULL MOON PIZZERIA • ARTHUR AVENUE
“ This was the only pizza parlor in the area. I was
coming here when I was a kid. Pizza and America go
together. If you walk down 9th avenue now theres like
a hundred pizza places. We never had that before, and
the pizza all stinks.“
LOUISE • EATER • SACCO PIZZA • HELL’S KITCHEN
“Pizza and America go together”
“ I’m 34 years in that building right over there. this is my
corner place. Nothing has changed that I’ve noticed.
The prices go up everywhere, but the food is still the
same. This is right next door to me so I come here. I’ve
eaten pizza at other places, but this is where I’ll come
if I’m in the neighborhood at all. It feels like home.
He knows me when I walk in.
DORIS • EATER
LUIGI’S PIZZA • CLINTON HILL
“It feels like home. He knows me when I walk in”
“ My fathers and uncles all been comin’ here forever.
Anybody tells you in the neighborhood where to go,
it’s here. The daughter and son helps out, he brings
in his family. Nobody bothers you, everyone comes
in with their families. I come here every day. Believe
it or not, you cant beat it.”
VINNY AKA BIG V • EATER
LENNY’S PIZZA • BENSONHURST
“I come here every day.Believe it or not, you can’t beat it”
The shopYou know you’re in a legit New York pizza place the
minute you walk in the door. They all emit the same
unmistakable New York vibe. Through candid photographs
and anecdotes, we celebrate the sights, sounds, smells,
and rhythms of these often imitated, never replicated,
New York institutions.
PINO’S LA FORCHETTA • PARK SLOPEPINOS PIZZERIA • PARK SLOPE
IVANA PIZZERIA • ARTHUR AVENUE
“ It’s no frills. It just has an oven and ingredients and you
make it and that’s it. Someone works in the back and
that’s it. They’re all different. Some are bigger, some are
smaller. You have your gas oven and you have your
garlic knots and that’s it.”
TONY• EATER • WASHINGTON HEIGHTS
“YOU HAVE YOUR GAS OVENAND YOU HAVE YOUR GARLIC
KNOTS AND THAT’S IT”
“ The parlor is simple but very dynamic. The pizzas
are constantly being made and people are constantly
funneling through. The place is alive. It’s fresh
pizzas, fresh people.”
ROB • EATER • GREENWICH VILLAGE
“The place isalive. It’s fresh
pizza, fresh people”
VINNIE’S PIZZERIA • WILLIAMSBURG
FAT SAL’S PIZZA • CHELSEA
“WHEN I THINK OFNEW YORK PIZZERIAS
I THINK HOLE-IN-THE WALLS”
“ When I think of New York pizzerias I think of hole-in-the-walls.
They are very in-and-out. Definitely some sort of religious
paraphernalia. Tiling probably. Fluorescent lighting.”
ZACHARY • EATER • FASHION DISTRICT
“WHEN I THINK OFNEW YORK PIZZERIAS
I THINK HOLE-IN-THE WALLS”
The BLOCKNo matter what part of the city you find yourself in,
chances are you’re only a few blocks away from a piz-
zeria. Some have been around for decades and seen the
city change. Some are new comers and hope to stand the
test of time. They are all an essential strand of the city’s
DNA. We capture images of pizzerias and the blocks they
live on to explore the relationship between the city and
these iconic institutions.
ROCKET JOE’S PIZZA • LOWER EAST SIDE
“ It’s not like most areas in the city, everyone here works
together. When people run out of stuff or have too many
customers, we all help each other out. Most places, when
you have the same type of businesses on the same block,
we have eight pizzerias on the block, in other areas, they
are at war, here, everyone gets along. We’re all cool.
We all hang out, get coffees together, we’re all friends.”
FRANK • IVANA’S PIZZERIA • OWNER • ARTHUR AVENUE
“WE HAVE EIGHT PIZZERIAS
ON THE BLOCK. IN OTHER
AREAS, THEY ARE AT WAR.
HERE, EVERYONE GETS ALONG”
FASCATI PIZZA • BROOKLYN HEIGHTS
“ The neighborhood is always changing. Every four or
five years you see different people. You get a different
crowd. The population out here is getting bigger too.
It wasn’t very busy like this. I would say in the past
20 years it has gotten more crowded. I guess it’s too
crowded in Brooklyn. Now it’s more expensive here.
Not as much as the city, but it’s expensive. It’s been
good for our business.”
GIORGIO • OWNER • STATEN ISLAND
“THE POPULATION OUT HEREIS BIGGER TOO, IT WASN’T BUSY LIKE THIS”
ESPRESSO PIZZERIA • BAY RIDGE
THE ORIGINAL RAY’S PIZZA RESTAURANT • UPPER WEST SIDE
EXCLUSIVE PIZZA • WASHINGTON HEIGHTS
PABLO • OWNER • WASHINGTON HEIGHTS
“Everything here has changed… the neighborhood has changed.
There used to be a lot of poor people.Now there is a lot of rich people”
