New area code proposal for NYC advances to public hearings

New York City is a phone call away from getting a new area code.

The new code– which would be used in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and the Marble Hill section of uptown Manhattan — was requested by wireless companies because the existing four used in the five boroughs are expected to be exhausted by the end of 2026.

On Tuesday, the state Public Service Commission will hold two virtual public hearings before Administrative Law Judges Nicholas Planty and James Costello regarding the petition to add a new three-digit code for the city.

If approved, the new area code would only be applied to new numbers. Existing land and cellphone lines with the area codes 347, 718, 917 and 929 would keep their existing phone number.

The North American Numbering Plan Administrator, which oversees phone numbers across 20 countries from Canada to the Caribbean, submitted a petition to the state for the area code addition in May and is awaiting authorization on the proposed new code. The numbers for the new code have not been selected. It also requested it be put in place six months before the others run out.

If the new code isn’t approved, an alternative plan would eliminate the boundaries between 347, 718, 917 ,929 and the other codes used in the city: 212, 332, 646, 917.

The most recent NYC area code change dates back to 2011, when 929 was added.

The original 212 area code was created in 1947 for all five boroughs. The 718 area code was implemented in 1984, followed by the 917 in 1992 and the 347 in 1999.