Yeah... the additives helped the yeast grow, whereas additives in other cities (chlorine, etc.) hampered the yeast. The result was a crust which could easily be stretched very thin without breaking. In turn, this affected the way the other ingredients cooked.
It is regional though. And tgat is my experience. That no matter how northeast coastal a person is, they can’t get the pizza to be that New York/NJ/Connecticut quality outside of the region. It’s atmospheric- water included