As one who recently moved to the NYC area (well about six years ago) I have to agree. Even Connecticut and New Jersey have many really good pizzerias. It must be the water down here.
Stay away from the chains. The local owner-operated ones are the best.
There's actually a Kansas City pizza restaurant called "Original Pizza," and the owners are from Brooklyn, and their pizza was really quite good.
We also had another NY style pizza place that was really incredible (don't remember the name,) but when the Watts Mill shopping center flooded, it closed.
Mark