Staten Island man, whose pizza shop was the heart of a neighborhood, dies at 82

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Gennaro “Jerry” Chiarello, the beloved owner of Pizza Town/Gennaro’s who served the Staten Island community for nearly five decades, died peacefully on Sept. 10 in Port St. Lucie, Florida. He was 82.

Born in Scala Coeli, Italy, on May 13, 1943, Chiarello became a fixture in the New Dorp area, where his pizzeria served as what one longtime friend called “the center of the universe for the neighborhood.”

“Jerry was the neighborhood,” said Frank Wilkinson, whose family had a strong friendship as well as business ties with Chiarello dating back to the 1970s. “I called him the patriarch of New York. He cemented himself in the community. Everybody knew who Jerry was and loved him.”

Chiarello owned Pizza Town/Gennaro’s for more than 49 years, becoming known for his legend