Been living in New York for the past 20+ years. Sadly, inflation has diminished the quality and quantity of the average corner pizza shop's slice. Yes, the Artichoke Basil slice the author refers to is much more expensive, but it's also bigger than the average slice of pizza in NYC - and the quality of ingredients seems better. The $1 slice shops (now more like the $1.50 slice shops) live on low margin and high volume. I can attest that it's great when you're in a hurry and just want to get something in your system. For quality pizza slices, well, you're just going to have to pay $3-$5 for a slice nowadays ($1 or more for toppings).