New York State and surrounding areas Area codes Jan 2024

Area codes 718, 347, and 929 are telephone overlay

area code A telephone numbering plan is a type of numbering scheme used in telecommunication to assign telephone numbers to subscriber telephones or other telephony endpoints. Telephone numbers are the addresses of participants in a telephone network, rea ...

s in the

North American Numbering Plan The North American Numbering Plan (NANP) is an integrated telephone numbering plan for twenty-five regions in twenty countries, primarily in North America and the Caribbean. This group is historically known as World Zone 1, World Numbering Zone ...

(NANP) for the New York City boroughs of

the Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

, and

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

, as well as the Marble Hill section of

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. They are part of a larger

overlay complex In telecommunications, an area code overlay complex is a telephone numbering plan that assigns multiple area codes to the same geographic numbering plan area (NPA). Area code overlays are implemented in territories of the North American Numbe ...

with

area code 917 Area code 917 is a telephone area code in the North American Numbering Plan for the entirety of New York City. It is an overlay code to all numbering plan areas (NPAs) in the city, and was intended to serve cellular, pager, and voicemail appli ...

, which comprises all of New York City. Area code 465 is scheduled to overlay the numbering plan area on June 18, 2026.

History

For the first 37 years after the establishment of the first nationwide

telephone numbering plan A telephone numbering plan is a type of numbering scheme used in telecommunication to assign telephone numbers to subscriber telephones or other telephony endpoints. Telephone numbers are the addresses of participants in a telephone network, reach ...

in 1947, all of New York City was a single numbering plan area (NPA),

area code 212 Area is the Measure (mathematics), measure of a Domain (mathematical analysis), region's size on a surface (mathematics), surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape or planar lamina, while ''surface are ...

. In 1984, New York Telephone asked the New York Public Service Commission to divide New York City into multiple numbering plan areas to "prevent an impending exhaustion of telephone numbers." On February 1, 1984, the commission voted to assign Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island with a new area code, while restricting 212 to Manhattan and the Bronx. The announcement of the impending split triggered protests and threats of legal action from local officials and lawmakers representing the outer boroughs. Despite this, New York Telephone implemented the new area code 718 on September 1, 1984. The split divided the city's three million telephone subscribers roughly into equal parts. Permissive dialing of 212 continued across New York City until January 1, 1985. On July 1, 1992, the Bronx and the neighborhood of

Marble Hill, Manhattan Marble Hill is the northernmost neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan. Although once part of Manhattan Island, a large modern shipping canal was dug to its south over a small earlier canal in the late 19th century. The neighbor ...

were also split from numbering plan area 212, and were added to 718. A permissive dialing period for using either area code 212 or 718 in the affected area lasted until May 16, 1993. In December 1998, area code 347 was approved as an overlay code to area code 718. Area code 347 became effective on October 1, 1999. Mandatory ten-digit dialing for the 718/347 numbering plan area was required to be implemented by April 15, 2000. In the year after the 347 introduction, dialing errors by omitting the prefix digit 1 caused subscribers with numbers 718-347-XXXX receiving calls to the new area code. On December 16, 2009, the New York Public Service Commission approved an additional overlay code for the 718/347 numbering plan area. On January 22, 2010,

NeuStar Neustar, Inc. is an American technology company that provides real-time information and analytics for risk, digital performance, defense, telecommunications, entertainment, and marketing industries, and also provides clearinghouse and directory se ...

announced another overlay code (929) for the 718 and 347 area codes. Area code 929 became effective on April 16, 2011. This had the effect of assigning 23.4 million numbers to an area of 6.7 million people. As of April 2024, NPA 347/718/929 has a projected exhaustion date of the last quarter of 2026. In mitigation planning, the New York Public Service Commission decided, after a public hearing in October 2024, to install an additional area code to the overlay complex. Upon the approval by the New York Public Service Commission of an all-service distributed overlay on January 24, 2025, area code 465 was scheduled for an in-service date of June 18, 2026.

Area code 917 Area code 917 is a telephone area code in the North American Numbering Plan for the entirety of New York City. It is an overlay code to all numbering plan areas (NPAs) in the city, and was intended to serve cellular, pager, and voicemail appli ...

overlays area codes 718, 347, and 929, as well as area codes 212, 646, and 332 in Manhattan.

Marble Hill

Despite being legally a part of the

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

, per the Greater New York Charter of 1897, the neighborhood of Marble Hill is excluded from the Manhattan numbering plan areas 212, 646, and 332, instead using the 718, 347, and 929 area codes.Bloom, Jennifer Kingson.
A Bit of Manhattan In the Bronx: A little-known enclave in a spot where the Bronx should be.
. ''The New York Times''. July 23, 1995. It used to be attached to

Manhattan Island Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the smallest county by area in the U.S. state of New York. Located almost entire ...

. After the

Harlem River Ship Canal Spuyten Duyvil Creek () is a short tidal estuary in New York City connecting the Hudson River to the Harlem River Ship Canal and then on to the Harlem River. The confluence of the three water bodies separate the island of Manhattan from t ...

was built in 1895, Marble Hill was separated from Manhattan Island by water. Soon after, the Spuyten Duyvil Creek was filled in with landfill, physically connecting Marble Hill to

. When the 718 numbering plan area was extended to the Bronx, Marble Hill residents unsuccessfully fought to retain area code 212. Marble Hill's wire center is located in the Bronx and rerouting the trunks would have been too expensive for New York Telephone.

In popular culture

The 718 area code was celebrated in the 1998 2 Skinnee J's song "718," in which the rappers tell of people moving from

(212) to other boroughs (718) for lower rent. Area codes 212 and 718 are included in the 2001 song "

Area Codes A telephone numbering plan is a type of numbering scheme used in telecommunication to assign telephone numbers to subscriber telephones or other telephony endpoints. Telephone numbers are the addresses of participants in a telephone network, reach ...

" as two of the many locations where rapper

Ludacris Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977), known professionally as Ludacris (, spoken as "ludicrous" in American English), is an American rapper and songwriter. Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludacris moved to Atlanta, Georgia, at age ...

has "hoes." A telephone number in area code 347 appears as "Come forth and call 489-4608, and I'll be here" in the lyrics of "Diary," a track on the album ''

The Diary of Alicia Keys ''The Diary of Alicia Keys'' is the second studio album by American singer Alicia Keys. It was released on December 2, 2003, by J Records. The album was recorded at several recording studios, and production was handled primarily by Keys with cont ...

.'' In 2023, as part of the marketing for the then-upcoming release of '' The Super Mario Bros. Movie,'' a telephone number in area code 929 was created to call or text. When called, the line would play a pre-recorded message instructing callers to send a text message to that number. A reply contained a link where subscribers could sign up for updates related to the movie.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Area Code 718 718 718 Communications in New York City Telecommunications-related introductions in 1984 Telecommunications-related introductions in 1999 Telecommunications-related introductions in 2011

History

Marble Hill

In popular culture

See also

References