Has anyone ACTUALLY reached a real person on ny unemployment phone lines?

I was in the exact same situation last summer - calling for literally 3.5 months with no success. What finally worked for me was using this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com). It basically calls for you and then connects you with an agent when one picks up. Talking to an actual person got my issue resolved in one call and my benefits started flowing the next week. Best decision I made after wasting hundreds of hours on hold.

Here's what worked for me - call exactly at 7:58am (NOT 8:00), press 1 for English immediately, then 2 for existing claim, then 1 again. If you're lucky you'll get placed in a queue instead of getting the "we're too busy" message. I had to try this method for 2 weeks straight before it worked, but I finally got through!

The whole system is BROKEN BY DESIGN. They don't want to pay out benefits. I'm 100% convinced they make it impossible to reach anyone so people just give up. I've had better luck going through my state assembly person's office. Call them and explain your situation - sometimes they have direct lines to unemployment offices.

NY unemployment is literally the worst. After trying for weeks I finally used claimyr.com and it got me connected with an agent. i was like shocked when my phone rang and it was actually a real person from unemployment. My issue got fixed in one call.

Ok here's what you actually need to do (I work in a related field so I know the system pretty well): First, the normal phone lines are basically useless right now. Too many people calling. Instead: 1. Document EVERYTHING. Dates, times, what happened with your claim. 2. Contact your state representative or assembly person. They have special contacts at unemployment offices. 3. If you need immediate help, use a service like claimyr.com - they have technology that waits on hold for you then calls you when an agent is reached. This is probably your fastest option. 4. Email the commissioner's office directly (can find email online) with a clear subject line about your issue. 5. File an official complaint through the state labor department website. The regular phone lines have a 1% chance of getting through on any given day. You need to try alternative routes if you've been waiting months. Hope this helps! The system is frustrating but there are ways around it.

I haven't been able to reach anyone in 6 weeks. My claim is stuck in pending and I'm about to lose my apartment. The system is designed to make us fail.

After 3 months of trying every possible phone trick, I bit the bullet and used Claimyr. They called for me and I got connected to a live agent in about 2 hours. My issue was resolved that same day after 10 minutes of talking to someone. It was the only way I could talk to a live agent after months of frustration. Wish I'd known about it sooner tbh.

I finally got through yesterday after 2 months of calling! The trick was calling their fraud department instead of the regular number. They transferred me to claims.

Has anyone tried going to an actual unemployment office in person? Are they even open?