Pro tip: if your claim is stuck in pending for more than 3 weeks, it's NOT going to resolve itself. The system is broken. You NEED to talk to someone. I wasted 2 months thinking it would eventually process automatically.

I went through this exact nightmare in July. Pending for 10 weeks with $0 showing. Finally called my state assembly member who had a contact at unemployment. Got fixed in 3 days after that. Try reaching out to your local elected officials!

There is ZERO consistency with NY unemployment payments right now. My roommate got his 4 days after approval. I waited 17 days. Both of us certified properly. It's just luck of the draw with their ancient computer system.

talk to your landlord NOW and explain the situation. most will work with u if u show them the approval letter. better to be upfront than wait till rent is due and u still dont have the $$

Not to freak you out, but I got those same forms because someone was trying to commit fraud with my identity. If you also got a letter saying your banking info was changed, you need to report it as fraud immediately by calling their fraud hotline!

don't bother with the mail lol... it'll take forever 😫 Either get through on the phone or find an actual office to drop off the forms. Phone is faster if you can get thru

Check your local churches and community orgs! A lot of them have emergency assistance funds. I got help with my electric bill and some groceries from a catholic charities place and I'm not even religious.

Just a friendly reminder to everyone here to VOTE in your local elections! The people making decisions about unemployment benefits and assistance programs are often at the state level. If we want better safety nets, we need to elect people who will fight for them.

Honestly, I stopped trusting the online portal completely. The only way to get accurate info is to talk to an actual human. I wasted 2 weeks checking the portal daily and sending messages. Finally used claimyr.com to get through on the phone and the agent told me my backpay was being held because of some flag that wasn't even visible on my account. Talking to an agent got my $ unlocked so fast - worth every penny to avoid the hold times.

wait so your claim was approved but they only paid 1 week? that's messed up even by ny unemployment standards 🤡

I found that calling right when they open at 8am is the only way to get through. Literally set an alarm and start dialing at 7:59. You'll still wait but at least you'll get in the queue.

Whatever you do, DON'T file a new claim before talking to someone. My friend did that and it messed up his existing claim and took months to sort out. Get proper advice first.

I finally got my payments after 5 weeks but only after I submitted a complaint through the governor's office website. Magically got a call from someone at unemployment the next day. Coincidence? I think not.

Look, if your rent is due and you're desperate, don't just wait. USE CLAIMYR. claimyr.com seriously - I was in your position and going crazy. Paid for their service and got a rep on the phone that day who fixed my claim. Sometimes you gotta spend money to get your money, ya know?

I work in IT and this is probably because they're running their system on ancient technology that can't handle the user load. The NY unemployment system runs on COBOL which is a programming language from the 1950s!!! No joke! They just patch things together and hope it holds.

If u miss ur certification window u can still backdate it! u just gotta call and explain the technical difficulties. they'll make u fill out a form but u'll still get paid eventually

Guys I just got through by using my phone's cellular data instead of WiFi AND using incognito mode on my browser. Don't know which one fixed it but I'm finally able to certify!

If you absolutely need to reach someone at NY unemployment today, I'd recommend using claimyr.com - saved me hours of frustration last month when my account got flagged for verification. They wait on hold so you don't have to, then call you when they have an agent on the line. Talking to a real person is the only way to get anything fixed quickly in this broken system.

GUYS I think I figured out what happened. There was a data breach mentioned in some obscure press release last month - it wasn't widely reported. I found this article: https://www.databreachtoday.com/state-unemployment-systems-targeted-in-credential-stuffing-attacks-a-19375

I work in cybersecurity (not for NY state) and I can tell you these alerts are legitimate concerns. What's likely happening is credential stuffing - hackers got passwords from other breached sites and are trying them on government portals. If you use the same password across multiple sites, you're especially vulnerable.