‘It’s absolutely worth it. It was hot. It seems like it just came out of the oven…’
(Claire Russel, Liberty Headlines) New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio slammed Domino’s Pizza for reportedly hiking its prices during Times Square’s New Year’s Eve celebration and charging customers $30 per pizza.
Jacking up your prices on people trying to celebrate the holidays? Classy, @dominos.
To the thousands who came to Times Square last night to ring in 2020, I’m sorry this corporate chain exploited you — stick it to them by patronizing one of our fantastic LOCAL pizzerias. pic.twitter.com/rO6I9oYIku
— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) January 1, 2020
The New York Post reported that Domino’s Midtown location charged nearly double the $14.49 regular cost for a large cheese pizza, and tacking on an additional fee for customers who asked for delivery while they waited for the ball to drop. But it doesn’t seem like the customers cared about the additional costs.
“It’s absolutely worth it. It was hot. It seems like it just came out of the oven,” said Amit Zanwar, 31, who is from New Jersey. “If he comes back, I will buy some more.”
The Domino’s delivery man reportedly sold out of pizzas almost as soon as he arrived in Times Square, the Post reported, in part because those waiting for hours prior to the annual celebration were trapped within the pens as soon as they arrived.
That has caused many revelers attending it to resort to wearing adult diapers in recent years.
While New York City’s tight security regulations allowed Domino’s to exploit one of the most basic free-market principles of supply and demand, de Blasio’s foray into consumer advocacy may have seemed a bit disingenuous.
After all, the socialism-influenced mayor said he had no problem “taxing the hell” out of wealthy individuals. He vowed during his failed presidential campaign that he would “even the score” and “make this a fairer country” by introducing a wealth tax, an income tax, an inheritance tax, a CEO pay ratio tax, a Wall Street tax and more.
He also notoriously used New York City’s taxpayers’ dollars to pay for his campaign events and security costs.