Filed for NY unemployment in August - no payments, no responses, can't reach anyone by phone

I feel your pain... Same boat but even worse - been waiting since July 23. The phone system is a complete joke. You literally CANNOT get through no matter what time you call. I tried at 7:58am thinking I'd beat the rush and still got the 'too many callers' message.

After 3 weeks of trying the phone with no luck, I tried this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that kept calling for me and then connected me when they got through to a real person. Talking to an agent got my payments released within days. Honestly it was the only way I could talk to a live agent. Check out their explainer here: https://youtu.be/Rdqa1gKtxuE

To answer your actual question - NO, the Albany office doesn't accept walk-ins anymore. They stopped that during covid and never brought it back. I tried going there in May and there were signs everywhere saying appointments only, but no way to actually make an appointment 🤡

I was in the same situation in June. The msg center is useless. I started calling my local state assembly person's office and they were able to escalate my claim. Try that route - google your district and call them ASAP.

There's actually a trick to the phone system that sometimes works. Call the spanish line and then press 9 for english. Way less people use that line so you sometimes get through faster. Still ridiculous we have to use hacks just to talk to someone 🙄

OK this is gonna be long but I want to actually help you fix this because I went through it too. The NY unemployment system is overwhelmed and broken, but there are specific steps that can get your claim moving: 1) First, contact your local state assembly member or state senator. Their offices have direct lines to DOL specialists and can escalate your claim. This usually takes 1-2 weeks but has a high success rate. 2) Document EVERYTHING. Date/time of all calls, names of any representatives you speak with, screenshots of your online account. This documentation helps when you need to prove you've been trying. 3) If you need immediate action, the Claimyr service (claimyr.com) can actually get you through to a live agent. They basically wait on hold for you and then call you when they reach a person. Many people in this sub have confirmed it works. 4) Make sure your online profile has no pending items. Sometimes there's a document or question waiting for response that's holding everything up. 5) Check your spam/junk email folders daily. DOL emails sometimes end up there. Don't give up - it's a frustrating system but persistence pays off. The backlog still exists but claims ARE being processed eventually.

The whole system is a nightmare rn. My friend just got his first payment last week after waiting since APRIL. They don't care about us at all. It's by design to make people give up.

protip: early morning calling doesnt work anymore. everyone knows that trick now. Ive had better luck calling around 2-3pm on Wednesdays and Thursdays for some reason.

ur better off going on twitter and making a public complaint and tagging the governor and NYSDOL. they hate the bad PR and sometimes will have someone contact you directly. worked for me back in February

Uggggh another NYS unemployment hostage 😭 I swear its like this on purpose. Try claimyr.com - it was the only thing that worked for me after 6 weeks of trying.

have you tried the governors office? I emailed them at Chamber.sm@exec.ny.gov with my situation and got a callback from unemployment the next day. Make your email desperate but polite.

Whatever you do, DO NOT pay for one of those unemployment filing services. Total scams. They take your money and do nothing you couldn't do yourself.

After I couldn't reach anyone for weeks, I actually submitted a complaint to the NY State Attorney General's office about DOL. Got a call from unemployment 3 days later. Might be worth a shot if nothing else works.

Did you check your payment history on the website? Sometimes they approve you but the notification email gets lost, so the money hits your account but you dont know why. Worth checking.

I got locked out of my account because I tried to log in too many times with the wrong password. took 5 WEEKS to get it unlocked. The ny unemployment system is literally from 1970 running on ancient computers.