Millions of Italians emigrated to America during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and hundreds of them arrived toting a pizza recipe. In 1905, Gennaro Lombardi opened America’s first pizzeria on the corner of Spring and Mott Streets in New York, leading other pizzaioli to follow suit and set up shop in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens.

In 1964, the inauguration of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge prompted droves of Italians to cross the Narrows and relocate to Staten Island, settling in alongside a community of “pre-bridge” Italian transplants. More pizzerias followed, eventually spawning a pizza style particular to the outer borough characterized by an ultra-thin crust.