Calling all New Yorkers: A few numbers with the 212 area code are back in circulation

Since 212 numbers were depleted over a decade ago, New Yorkers have used a variety of questionable methods and paid hundreds of dollars to acquire their own. But while 212 remains an extremely rare commodity, a few numbers have now come back into circulation.

Brenley Carmine, 23, stumbled upon this last week. He wanted to add a second line onto his phone, he told Gothamist, so he bought an eSIM from US Mobile, a mobile virtual network operator, or MVNO. An MVNO provides users with an inexpensive wireless SIM card that draws telephone and data services, including phone numbers, from one of the major cellular carriers.

Carmine received a randomly generated 212 number from Verizon.

"I was just really shocked that they're available," he said. "I know in the past I've had people in my life that have literally dropped hundreds of dollars on one. So that's why I was like, oh, I need to share this with someone."

He wrote about his find on the NYC subreddit, where his post quickly racked up over 120 comments. "I just remember on Reddit back in the day, I'd see a lot of people post like, 'Hey guys, T-Mobile has 212s available! Everyone go check 'em out before it's too late!'" Carmine said. "People would scramble for them, so I was like, I don't want to gatekeeper this, I'll tell everyone. I didn't really expect anyone to care, but it seems like people really do."

Willy Gil is one of those commenters who cared. The 32-year-old Manhattan resident acquired a 212 number via a prepaid SIM card on eBay for just $20 from a third-party provider a few years ago. He says he was relieved he got one before the price skyrocketed.

“I’m just proud because I can port that number whenever I want to any carrier,” he said. “I just feel I have part of the culture of NYC you cannot get anymore.”

The New York Times once called 212 "the only acceptable area code for a Manhattanite," while the Wall Street Journal said they were “retro-chic,” and compared them to rent-controlled apartments. Carmine says that the way 212 numbers have infiltrated culture — from Azealia Banks to Seinfeld — is part of their allure.

"For some people, I think it's like a status symbol to show how long they've lived here," said Carmine. "But for others it's more just iconic and recognizable. Everyone knows it: It's on signs, it's on merch, it's in songs. I think that's why people desire it."

Like many foibles specific to living in New York City, the local obsession with the hallowed 212 area code can be illustrated by a "Seinfeld" plotline. In the season nine episode "The Maid," Elaine changes her 212 phone number and is saddled with the then-new 646. This sets off a series of frustrating and humiliating encounters, including her being rejected by a man solely because of her suspicious area code.

The joke was clear: if you can't prove your NYC bona fides, you shall be spit out and rejected by this city.

As part of the creation of the North American Numbering Plan in 1947, New York was assigned the 212, 315, 518, 716 and 914 area codes. At that time, the 212 area code covered all five boroughs of New York City. It was considered one of the easiest area codes to dial on a rotary phone because it involved the least amount of movement.

In 1984, with the city's population increasing and more and more New Yorkers using telephones, the 718 area code was added for Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island. By 1992, 718 was expanded to the Bronx, making 212 exclusively a Manhattan area code. The entire city was also overlaid with the 917 area code around that time, and by 1999, 646 was added for Manhattan as well. (Another area code, 332, was added in 2017.)

By 2009, the FCC reported that 212 phone numbers had almost been completely depleted. Around that time, cellphone use began eclipsing landline use. As a result, many people wanted to transfer (or "port") their beloved 212 numbers to their mobile phones. Those without the coveted area code turned to other means to acquire one: buying them on eBay, sharing leads whenever one of the major carriers made them available, or resorting to third-party services that sell them at a premium.

David Day is one of those providers. The 43-year-old began collecting 212 numbers in the late '00s, and started his business 212areacode.com in 2009. He estimates he's sold tens of thousands of 212 numbers over the last 14 years, charging about $150 for a standard number, and going up as high as $20,000 (for 212-460-0000) and $35,000 (for 212-666-4444) for particularly unique numbers. (For what it's worth, someone once tried to sell a 212 number for $1 million.)

Day says the numbers come from many different sources. "Sometimes businesses are closing down or downsizing, other carriers that we work with are able to offer them to us, and then we go ahead and we resell them," he told Gothamist.

If an individual has a 212 phone number and they no longer need the line, the number goes into a dormant status for a period of time until the carrier puts it back into circulation. "If someone's lucky enough, they can grab it directly from the carrier," Day said. "We don't see it so often, but once in a while it happens."

He notes that a lot of his sales come from law firms and hedge funds looking to buy large blocks of numbers.

"A lot of businesses that order from us tell us that it gives them some kind of credibility, it gives them some kind of established status in Manhattan when you have a 212 number," he said. "If a customer calls a 929 area code, which is a recent area code, then they understand it's a relatively new business. If they were an older, more established business, they should probably have a 212 number."

It's not just businesses who benefit from the perception that 212 provides — and it's not just New Yorkers who benefit from it.

Manny Quintero, 35, first became aware of 212 numbers because of that "Seinfeld" episode. He works in finance, and says he got a wakeup call from a recruiter who scolded him for having a 509 area code and not using an iPhone for interviews. Just before the start of the pandemic, he went to a third-party app and snagged his own 212 number.

"It's funny, because I've never been to the East Coast, and people think I'm local, even though I used to live in Idaho and now I live in the Pacific Northwest," Quintero said. "But for me, it was really useful to reach recruiters for finance jobs."

Quintero credits his phone number with helping him land interviews with Goldman Sachs, the Bank of New York Mellon and Morgan Stanley, among others.

"I have three 212 numbers now," he added. "I'm not sure if you call that extremely lucky or just coincidence."

Carmine, who snagged one of the rare Verizon 212 numbers, feels lucky as well — especially because according to Telco Data, which tracks numbers throughout the country, the one he got was only activated in July 2022. That means it's likely not a recycled number, so he won't receive as many spam calls as he would using a number that was previously in circulation.

And does having a 212 number makes him a more authentic New Yorker?

"Honestly, no, but I can see why some people would feel that way," he said. "I mean, I feel fake having one. I literally live in Jersey City."