By New York Post (U.S.) | Created at 2025-01-20 23:46:24 | Updated at 2025-01-23 16:46:22
2 days ago
This pizzeria is giving back to the kneady!
A Staten Island pizzeria is trying to take a slice out of Manhattan’s onerous new toll by serving up congestion pricing discounts for drivers.
Patrons of Mr Pizza’s Pasta House can score up to 15% off their meals depending on the size by simply showing a license and copy of their E-Z pass receipt. The discount went into effect earlier this month following the Jan. 5 rollout of Gov. Kathy Hochul and the MTA’s new $9 toll.
“Customers could be paying anywhere up to $400 extra a month just to travel to Manhattan, people are furious, and my heart goes out to those people,” pizzeria owner Dennis Zollo told The Post.
The decades-old restaurant — one that has gained notoriety for its vodka sauce — has been a neighborhood institution for 31 years with generations of Zollos helping to run the mom-and-pop shop.
“I’ve been here since day one, I was a little kid. My mother’s been here, my father’s been here, my children are here, and my employees and customers have been with me for many years,” said Zollo, 40.
So when he witnessed the crippling pressure the congestion pricing toll was putting on the wallets of his customers — Zollo knew he had to act.
“I mean its hard enough to make it in this city and now they’re doing this,” he said of the toll.
To prepare for a potential loss in revenue, Zollo said he’s been trying various alternatives to save some dough — such as getting into the store earlier and putting out new products with different specials to feed the hundreds of hungry customers streaming in daily now.
Zollo admits the discount won’t be sustainable forever as food prices continue to surge above pre-pandemic levels.
“I’m going to ride this wave as long as I can, but believe that somebody is going to step in and end this tax eventually, or that’s my hope,” he said.
“I’m also expecting that a lot of prices are going to start to go up on food costs but I’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”
The move by the Staten Island restaurateur comes as some Big Apple restaurants below 60th Street are offering $9 discounts to offset the new levy on drivers.
“It’s a way to take a bit of the sting out of being stung by congestion pricing,” restaurateur Aristotle “Telly” Hatzigeorgiou told The Post’s Side Dish.
