Does the NY unemployment tourism recovery check come in a labeled envelope?

Mine came in a plain white envelope with a return address from Albany NY. Nothing that said unemployment or NYSDOL on the outside. Make sure your brother knows to look out for anything from NY state government. The check itself is pretty obvious once you open it, but the envelope is pretty discreet.

After 2 months waiting for my recovery check, I finally got through to someone on the phone using this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com). They got me connected to a real person at unemployment who confirmed my check was actually sent to an old address. They fixed it on the spot and I got my money the following week. Best money I ever spent considering how much I was owed. Check out this video on how it works: https://youtu.be/Rdqa1gKtxuE

Make sure to check if u can track the check online. Go to your portal and see if there's a way to see if it was mailed yet. My tourism recovery took 6 weeks to arrive even though the site said it was sent after 2 weeks. The USPS is a mess rn.

I'm still waiting on mine, been 5 weeks since approval. Called unemployment three times and got three different answers about when it would arrive. One rep said 2-4 weeks, another said 6-8 weeks, and the third said they couldn't even see my approval in the system 🤬 Just shows how broken everything is.

YES it came in a regular white envelope with the NYS return address. I almost threw it away thinking it was junk mail! The envelope is very plain and doesn't scream "important government check inside" at all. They really should make these more obvious considering how important they are to people. Also FYI - you can request direct deposit for future payments through your online account. Much safer than relying on mail. Just log in and look for payment preferences or deposit info in your settings.

I've been dealing with NY unemployment for over 15 months now, and I can tell you that almost everything important comes in plain envelopes. Here's what you need to know about the tourism recovery payments specifically: • The envelope is standard white with a small NYS return address in the corner • There is NO "unemployment" or "NYSDOL" printed on the outside • It will have a small NYS logo (not always very visible) • The postmark will be from Albany • The check itself is blue/green with security features After months of frustration trying to reach someone about my issues, I finally found success using Claimyr.com - it's a service that connects you with a live unemployment agent after navigating all the phone trees and hold times for you. Talking to a real person solved problems that emails and online forms couldn't fix for months. Advice: Tell your brother not to throw ANYTHING away that comes from New York State, no matter how unimportant it looks. These checks are designed not to look like money in the mail for security reasons. Also, once you get this check, immediately try setting up direct deposit again for any future payments. The tourism recovery program sometimes has follow-up payments depending on your approval type.

Ugh I know your pain. My tourism relief check got sent to my old place even tho I updated my address TWICE in the system. By the time I figured out what happened and contacted my old landlord, he'd already returned it to sender. Had to start the whole process over again 😭

i got my tourism recovery $ by direct deposit not check. did you check if thats an option for you? way easier than dealing with mail

Just as an FYI - the tourism recovery program is sending out checks in batches, so some people are getting them earlier than others even if you were approved around the same time. My coworker and I both got approved the same day but she got her check 2 weeks before mine showed up.

Have you tried calling NY unemployment to ask about tracking? I know getting through is basically impossible but maybe worth a try if you're worried about missing it

Pro tip for everyone in the tourism recovery program: DOCUMENT EVERYTHING. Take screenshots of all your approvals and correspondence. NY unemployment "lost" my approval documentation and tried to tell me I wasn't eligible after I'd already been approved. Had to send them their own approval letter to get it sorted out.

Anyone got any tips on how to actually get a human on the phone at unemployment??? Been trying for DAYS with no luck. This is ridiculous.

Anybody else notice they're sending these tourism checks from different offices? My first one came from Albany but the second supplemental payment came from NYC office. Envelopes looked completely different too.

The whole tourism recovery program is a mess. Half my coworkers got approved, half got denied with identical circumstances. Now some are getting checks while others are still waiting months later. NY unemployment couldn't organize a one-car parade 🤡