New Yorkers Given Two-Week Reprieve on New Area Codes
New York Telephone Co. said Tuesday it has decided to give area residents two more weeks to get used to having the city divided into two area codes.
Under the new system, the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx will retain area code 212, but Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island will become 718. The phone company had warned for months that dialing the extra digits would be required beginning New Year’s Day.
But a spokesman said Tuesday the company was delaying the move because 90% of its customers had declined to used the area codes during a four-month experimental period. It was feared that confusion over the new area codes coupled with the high volume of holiday calls would overload the phone system.
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