Area codes 212, 646, and 332

The blue area is New York State; the red area is area code 212 and overlays 646 and 332; it is overlaid by 917

Area codes 212, 646 and 332 are area codes for most of the borough of Manhattan in New York City. By area, it is one of the smallest numbering plan areas in the North American Numbering Plan.[1] These area codes are overlaid by area code 917, which covers the entirety of New York City.

History

Area code 212 is one of the original 86 area codes assigned by AT&T in 1947, and served the entire five boroughs of New York City. It was chosen for the nation's most-populous (and presumably most-called) city since it was the shortest to dial on the rotary dialing phones of the time, which generated a series of clicks. Only five clicks (2+1+2=5) were required to dial New York, with six clicks to dial the next-largest cities, Los Angeles (213) and Chicago (312). This configuration remained for 37 years, until tone-based button dialing and the necessity of new area codes made the dialing length moot.

On February 1, 1984, in response to a request from New York Telephone, the New York Public Service Commission voted to divide New York City into two numbering plan areas. Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island received the new area code 718, while 212 was reduced to cover only Manhattan and the Bronx. Despite protests from some local officials and state lawmakers, the commission was persuaded by New York Telephone's reasoning that a new area code was needed to "prevent an impending exhaustion of telephone numbers."[2][3] The number shortage was exacerbated by the fact that the New York City LATA not only includes the Five Boroughs, but also the lower Hudson Valley and Long Island.[4] Hence, several numbers in the lower Hudson Valley's 914 and Long Island's 516 were not available for use.

New York Telephone gave some 718 phone numbers a head start by several days.[5] Despite state lawmakers representing the outer boroughs threatening legislation to stop the split,[3] 718 entered service as scheduled on September 1, 1984.[2] Permissive dialing of 212 numbers continued across New York City until January 1, 1985, when the use of 718 became mandatory across the outer boroughs.[2]

On July 1, 1992, the 718 territory was expanded to include the Bronx and the Marble Hill neighborhood of Manhattan (see below), while the rest of Manhattan remained in 212. Permissive dialing of 212 continued across the Bronx until May 16, 1993, during which either 212 or 718 could be used; after that date, 718 had to used for calls to the Bronx from everywhere outside the borough except the three boroughs that originally had the 718 code, and Bronx residents calling Manhattan had to dial 212.[6] On September 25, 1993, callers from the Bronx no longer had to dial 718 to reach Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island.[7]

In 1992, the entire city was overlaid with area code 917, which originally had been planned for only the Bronx and mobile service.[8]

Area code 646 overlaid area code 212 in Manhattan on July 1, 1999, when available 917 mobile numbers were becoming scarce.[9]

In November 2015, area code 332 was assigned as an additional overlay area code for Manhattan's numbering plan area 212 and 646,[10][11] the fourth serving the area and the seventh serving New York City. Area code 332 became active on June 10, 2017,[12][13] as area code 212 was expected to run out of numbers in the third quarter of 2017,[14][15] and 646 is expected to run out of numbers by 2018.[16] This effectively allocates 23.4 million numbers to a borough of 1.6 million people.

Marble Hill

One Manhattan neighborhood, Marble Hill, is part of the 718/347/929 codes, rather than the 212/646/332 area codes.

Marble Hill, although officially a part of the Borough of Manhattan to this day, was geographically severed from Manhattan Island by the construction of the Harlem River Ship Canal in 1895. It was physically connected to the Bronx in 1914 when the by-passed segment of the Harlem River was filled in. When the Bronx shifted to 718 in 1992, Marble Hill residents fought to stay in 212, but lost. Marble Hill's trunk is wired into the Bronx line, and it would have been too expensive for New York Telephone to rewire it.

Market reputation

A business with a 212 area code is often perceived as having stability and roots in Manhattan,[17][18] particularly if a number has been in service for many decades. One example is PEnnsylvania 6-5000 (today 212-736-5000), the number for the Hotel Pennsylvania in Midtown. The hotel claims that it is the oldest continuously used number in New York City. This claim is in dispute, but PEnnsylvania 6-5000 did appear in a 1940 Glenn Miller Orchestra song title.

The scarcity of available telephone numbers in area code 212, combined with it being the city's original area code, result in the 212 area code having a prestigious cachet in the eyes of some Manhattan residents.[19][20] Businesses now sell phone numbers with 212 area codes, though it is unclear whether the customer or the phone company is the legal owner of a phone number.[21]

In August 2010, AT&T reported that there are no new numbers available in the 212 area code.[22] Several years before then, new landlines in Manhattan started to be assigned numbers in 917 (or 646). In addition, the Inwood section in far northern Manhattan is overlaid with area code 347, which also began as a cell phone area code.[23] Those who now get a 212 area code now must rely on luck of the draw when they establish their service or on websites where they can purchase the highly coveted area code to port to their landline or cellphone service.[16]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Doll, Jen (August 12, 2011). "A Guy Bought a Hundred 212 Numbers for $3,000". Village Voice. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 Prial, Frank J. (August 31, 1984). "Like It Or Not, City Gets 2nd Area Code Today". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  3. 1 2 Barbanel, Josh (February 16, 1984). "718 Area Code for Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island Gains Approval". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  4. ↑ Mid-Atlantic LATA map
  5. ↑ Heller Anderson, Susan; Carroll, Maurice (August 30, 1984). "New York Day by Day – Reaching Out And Touching 3 Boroughs". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  6. ↑ "Calling the Bronx – 718 Today". The New York Times. May 16, 1993. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  7. ↑ "Telephone Identifications – In the Bronx, 718 Is Up, 212 Is Down". The New York Times. July 1, 1992. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  8. ↑ McFadden, Robert D. (June 5, 1990). "917 Area Code Is Proposed For the Bronx". The New York Times. p. B6. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  9. ↑ Hu, Winnie (June 30, 1999). "In Manhattan, the 646 Area Code Is Correct, but Somehow Wrong". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
  10. ↑ "Planned NPAs Not Yet in Service". North American Numbering Plan Administration. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  11. ↑ MacMillan, Thomas. "Manhattan Is Getting Another Area Code: 332". The Wall Street Journal. December 1, 2015.
  12. ↑ Levine, Alexandra S. (June 9, 2017). "New York Today: Welcoming a New Area Code". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  13. ↑ Slattery, Denis (May 3, 2017). "Manhattan to see new area code 332 next month". New York Daily News.
  14. ↑ "2015-1 NRUF and NPA Exhaust Analysis". North American Numbering Plan Administration. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  15. ↑ "New Manhattan Area Code Needed to Meet Demand". TWC News. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
  16. 1 2 Mcgeehan, Patrick (March 24, 2015). "Manhattan Area Codes Multiply, but the Original, 212, Is Still Coveted". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
  17. ↑ Nelson, Katie (May 25, 2011). "New Jersey man hawks his (212) phone number on eBay: Wants $1 million for swanky area code". New York Daily News. Retrieved May 31, 2011.
  18. ↑ "Manhattan mobile misery: coveted 212 area code becomes rarer". Reuters. May 4, 2017. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
  19. ↑ Span, Paula (July 6, 1999). "Six-What? New Area Code Lacks the Status of 212". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 27, 2011.
  20. ↑ Kugel, Seth (March 20, 2005). "The 212 Cachet: Now Available on Cellphones". The New York Times. Retrieved September 27, 2011.
  21. ↑ McGeehan, Patrick (March 24, 2015). "Manhattan Area Codes Multiply, but the Original, 212, Is Still Coveted". The New York Times. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
  22. ↑ Waxler, Caroline (August 10, 2010). "212 Lust: Old Phone Numbers Are New Thing in Tech Scene". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 31, 2011.
  23. ↑ "Additional Area Code Planned for New York City". Neustar, Inc. PR Newswire. June 10, 2010. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
New York area codes: 212/332/646, 315/680, 347/718/929, 516, 518/838, 585, 607, 631/934, 716, 845, 914, 917
North: 347/718/929, 917
West: 201/551 area code 212/332/646 partially covered and surrounded by 917 East: 347/718/929, 917
South: 347/718/929, 917
New Jersey area codes: 201/551, 609, 732/848, 856, 862/973, 908

Coordinates: 40°43′42″N 73°59′39″W / 40.72833°N 73.99417°W / 40.72833; -73.99417

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