Throughout the second half of the 20th century, 212 carried every Manhattan phone number, from corner delis to Madison Avenue agencies. As demand outgrew supply, the city added overlays 646 in 1999 and 332 in 2017, both covering the same Manhattan footprint. Today a 212 number is a status marker, a quiet sign that a business is established, well known, or simply old enough to have grabbed one before the well ran dry.