New York pizzas take between 12 and 15 minutes to bake. A Neapolitan-style dough would dry out, becoming tough and crackery during this period. New York pizza owes its unique texture and flavor to two key components added to it: oil and sugar. Oil coats individual granules of flour, effectively lowering the total amount of gluten formed and thus creating a more tender finished product, even though it takes a longer time to bake than a neapolitan crust.
Sugar helps the crust to brown more evenly at lower oven temperatures. Without it, you'd end up with a paler, less flavorful crust.