With the proliferation of 99-cent pizza places and bars that serve pizza with cheap beer, we started wondering about the state of our favorite cheese and tomato concoction in NYC last month. Now, WNYC has created a Pizza Price Index to see exactly how the prices have changed, and as of May 13, the average city slice stands at $2.46. But what will happen if Ben Bernake announces a change in the interest crust rate??
In Manhattan and Brooklyn, the average price is $2.25; in Bronx and Staten Island it's $2.50; and in Queens, it's an exorbitant $2.75. But while the prices consumers pay in the land of the slice have only gone up 3.2 percent in the last year, wholesale prices have gone up 6.8 percent for pizza owners, for everything from olive oil, to chicken to pepperoni. According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, between April 2010 and 2011, the price of flour products has increased more than 23 percent, natural cheese prices have gone up 12 percent, and even the price of cardboard has increased.
"We're struggling a bit because of the prices, but we don't want to hurt everybody else. We're taking that loss," said Giorgio Giove of Brothers Pizza in Staten Island. At least there's no shortage of uniquely-talented disgraced former state Senators to slice those pies for cheap.
