Also check out your county's social services office - many have emergency rental assistance and utility help programs that can bridge you while job searching. Nassau and Suffolk counties have decent programs, and NYC has HRA which offers cash assistance. Don't be proud about it, these programs exist for exactly this situation. I used them between jobs and it kept me from losing my apartment.

Just went through this myself - my benefits ended 3 weeks ago. Here's what I wish someone had told me earlier: Start applying for other programs BEFORE week 24, not after. The paperwork takes forever. I'm currently getting help through my county's emergency assistance program and it's literally keeping me afloat. Also, temp agencies can be a lifeline - even if it's not your dream job, any income helps and sometimes temp positions turn permanent. Don't give up, the job market is tough but there are people who want to help if you know where to look.

if your still having problems getting your 1099g form, try using claimyr.com. i was in the exact same situation and hitting dead ends until i found them. got connected to a real person at unemployment in about 2.5 hours who emailed me my form right away.

I'm dealing with this exact same nightmare! Been trying to get my 1099-G since January and the website just keeps giving me errors. I've probably called 30+ times and never gotten through to a human. Reading through all these comments, it sounds like Claimyr.com might be worth trying - I'm honestly desperate at this point. Has anyone had any luck with the Form 4852 substitute approach? I kept decent records of my weekly payments so I could probably estimate pretty accurately. Just worried about getting it wrong and having to deal with the IRS later on top of this unemployment mess. This whole system is so broken it's ridiculous!

Just remember the maximum is $504 per week no matter how much you were making. So if you were pulling in $60k+ per year, you're still capped at that amount. It's not really enough to live on for most people which is why you're supposed to be actively looking for work.

Thanks everyone for the helpful info! Just want to add that you can also check your potential benefit amount before filing by using the NYS DOL benefit calculator on their website. It'll give you an estimate based on your wages from the past 18 months. Also, @Liam O'Sullivan make sure you file as soon as you're laid off - there's a one week waiting period before benefits start, and you can't get benefits for weeks you don't file. The sooner you start the process the better!

One thing I learned when I filed for unemployment in NY last year is that it's worth checking your earnings history on the NY.gov website even before you file your claim. You can access your quarterly wage reports under "View Benefit Year Earnings" to see exactly what wages each employer reported for each quarter. This helped me catch an error where one of my previous employers had reported my wages to the wrong quarter, which would have affected my base period calculation. I was able to contact the employer to get it corrected before filing, which saved me weeks of back-and-forth with the unemployment office. Also, if you're unsure about your benefit amount, NY has an online benefit calculator tool that can give you an estimate based on your earnings. It's not perfect but gives you a ballpark figure so you're not going in completely blind. Just search for "NY unemployment benefit calculator" on the DOL website.

As someone who recently went through the NY unemployment filing process, I want to emphasize how important it is to understand that NY automatically calculates BOTH base periods for you - you don't have to choose or request a specific one. When I filed my claim, I was initially worried because I thought they only used the Standard Base Period (which skips your most recent quarter). But after my determination letter arrived, I could see they had actually used the Alternate Base Period because my recent earnings were higher. The key thing to remember is: - Standard Base Period = first 4 of your last 5 completed quarters (skips most recent) - Alternate Base Period = your 4 most recent completed quarters - NY uses whichever gives you the higher weekly benefit For your situation with varying pay over the past year and a half, this automatic calculation feature should work in your favor. Just make sure when you file that you list ALL your employers accurately, even short-term ones, because missing wages could hurt your benefit calculation. The online system will guide you through everything step by step. Good luck with your claim!

I went through this exact same situation last month - 7 weeks of pending status with no communication. What finally worked for me was filing a complaint through the NYS Department of Labor's online complaint form on their website. You have to dig around to find it, but there's a section for "delayed benefit payments" under their complaint system. I also sent a message through the secure messaging in my ny.gov account explaining my situation and the financial hardship it was causing. Within 48 hours of doing both, I got a call from a caseworker who resolved the issue - turns out there was a simple coding error that had my claim stuck in limbo. Don't give up filing your weekly certifications though, you'll get backpay for all those weeks once it's resolved.

@Mateo Perez - I'm dealing with something similar right now (week 5 of pending status). One thing that helped me get more information was creating an account on the NY.gov website and checking the "Message Center" section - sometimes there are automated messages there that don't show up in the regular correspondence section. Also, if you haven't already, try calling the technical support line instead of the claims line - they can sometimes see different information about what's causing the delay. The number is different from the main unemployment line and usually has shorter wait times. For the immediate financial pressure, check if you qualify for emergency assistance programs through your county's social services department - some have funds specifically for people waiting on unemployment benefits. Keep hanging in there, most people do eventually get through the system and receive all their back payments.