Were you able to get through to anyone yet? The longer this goes without contact with an actual claims specialist, the more likely it'll just stay stuck in the system. That's why I ended up using that Claimyr service - after two weeks of not being able to reach anyone, I realized I needed to talk to a specialist to get it unstuck.

Let us know what happens! When my payments finally processed, they all came through on the same day. I literally checked my account in the morning and nothing, then checked again after lunch and suddenly had all three weeks' worth of payments in my account. I hope yours resolves soon!

I had a heart attack last month when my payment didn't come through on Friday. Turned out there was a "processing delay" according to the rep I finally reached on Tuesday. No explanation, no warning, nothing! The system is so frustrating sometimes. I feel your anxiety about this - living payment to payment is stressful enough without wondering if the money will actually arrive when promised.

Update: My payment came through this morning! Thanks everyone for the help and reassurance. I was stressing for nothing.

anybody else notice theres been TONS of unemployment fraud lately?? like 3 people at my job had this happen in the past 2 months. the system is broken!!

Quick update on the child support aspect: When unemployment fraud affects child support payments, you should also contact the New York Child Support Helpline at 1-888-208-4485 and request to speak with their Fraud Investigation Unit. Specifically ask for Form CSE-2025-F, which is their new specialized form for reporting benefits intercepted through identity theft. Also, have your child's mother contact them separately to verify her payment method preferences are correct in the system. Sometimes fraudsters change not only your information but recipient information as well to redirect payments.

I called Bank of America's customer service line and the rep told me there's actually a specific procedure for these tourism benefit checks! Apparently, they need to be processed differently than regular government checks. The hold is still in place but at least I know it's legitimate. For anyone else dealing with this - make sure to specifically mention it's a "New York State Tourism Recovery Benefit" check, not just a regular unemployment check. That seemed to help the customer service person find the right information. I'm also going to try the verification code approach that was suggested. Thanks everyone for your help! At least I know I'm not alone in dealing with this frustrating situation.

my cousin works at ny unemployment and said they got tons of calls about these checks. somthing about the printer they used making them look different from usual. they should really send an email warning people this might happen

the whole system is broken. i gotta certify every week but cant talk to nobody when theres a problem?? make it make sense!!!

Based on your description of payments stopping suddenly in February, this is likely related to the quarterly wage verification process that runs automatically in the system. For quickest resolution, log into your NY.gov account and check your messages and document section - there's often a request for additional verification that causes the payment pause. If nothing appears there, you absolutely need to speak with an agent. One effective method: use the 'request callback' feature on the website rather than calling directly. It became available in late 2024 and though it can still take 2-3 days, it's much more reliable than trying to call in. You'll find it under Account Settings > Customer Support > Request Callback.