The city's coveted 212 area code is becoming harder to get.

With a growing population and a need for more phone numbers there's a push to create yet another area code for the city by the end of 2017.

According to the New York Times, state regulators say its needed because of increased cell phone usage.

At one point, 212 covered the entire city until 718 was created for Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and the Bronx.

New Yorkers who spoke with NY1 had mixed feelings about the news.

"I think this is where all the money is at so people want that number. You know what I mean? Plus, they don't want to be associated with the other boroughs I feel like. You know, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and all that - everybody knows about Manhattan," said one New Yorker.

"I would think it'd be 718, but maybe I'm outdated," noted another New Yorker.

There are close to eight million numbers available per area code.

It took close to 45 years to use all of the 212 numbers.

It will now take about 20 years to use up the inventory of 646 numbers.