Can I get NYS Department of Labor unemployment benefits if I leave my job voluntarily?

Generally speaking, if you quit your job voluntarily, you won't be eligible for unemployment benefits unless you have what NYS Department of Labor considers 'good cause.' This means things like unsafe working conditions, harassment, significant changes to your job duties or pay, or health issues. Just being unhappy with your boss usually isn't enough. You'd need to document the toxic behavior and show you tried to resolve it first.

i quit my job last year and got denied for benefits, had to appeal it and everything. they said i should have tried to work it out with HR first

Before you quit, try to get your employer to lay you off instead. Sometimes if you explain the situation to HR they might be willing to do a 'mutual separation' which could preserve your eligibility. Also, if you can document harassment or hostile work environment, that might qualify as constructive dismissal. Keep records of everything - emails, witness statements, dates and times of incidents.

Look, trying to get through to NYS Department of Labor to get a real answer about your specific situation is nearly impossible with their phone system. I spent weeks trying to reach someone when I had questions about my eligibility. Finally found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that actually gets you connected to a live agent - there's a demo video at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Might be worth using to get a definitive answer about your situation before you make any decisions about quitting.

THE WHOLE SYSTEM IS RIGGED AGAINST WORKERS! They make it so hard to quit a terrible job because they know employers will just abuse people otherwise. I've seen people stay in horrible situations just because they can't afford to lose their UI eligibility. It's not right.

have you tried talking to a lawyer? some employment lawyers do free consultations and they might know if your situation qualifies for good cause