UWS Pizzeria To Close After Landlord Doubles Rent, Report Says

UPPER WEST SIDE, NEW YORK — An Upper West Side pizzeria that's served up pies for 36 years is closing after its rent was doubled, according to Gothamist.

Caesar's Palace Pizza will be shuttered in the coming weeks after Vifast Realty, which took over the lease last year, nearly doubled the pizzeria's rent and increased payments on late fees by a thousand percent, Gothamist reported.

Pizzeria owner Dimitri Vezrakis told Gothamist that he'd been asking to see the new lease for almost a year and was only presented it three weeks before his current lease ended.

Verzakis was joined by Community Board 7 member Mel Wymore Monday. Wymore had previously called on the City Council to pass a measure that would help protect small businesses against rent hikes.

"Our community is no longer welcoming to essential businesses like Caesar's, the kinds of businesses that weave our community together," Wymore told Gothamist.

"Let's be clear about this: when community institutions like Caesar's die, it's not an accident or an unavoidable tragedy, it's a result of deliberate choices by our politicians to protect a system that favors big landlords over everyone else."

In a Facebook post on Monday, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer said that she would help find a new space for Caesar's Palace Pizza near its current location.

Attempts to contact Vifast Realty were not successful Wednesday.

Lead image via Google Maps