Need phone number for NY governor's office about unemployment claim issue

The Governor's office phone number is 518-474-8390, but honestly they'll just redirect you back to NYSDOL. I tried this route last year and wasted days. Your better option is to contact your local state assembly person or senator - they have dedicated staff for unemployment issues and can actually get results.

Thanks for the number. I'll try both approaches. Did your assembly person actually help? How long did it take to get a response from them?

calling the governors office wont do anything. they just transfer u back to the same unemployment line that nobody answers anyway. its all a big circle of frustration

SO TRUE!! The whole system is designed to make you give up! I spent THREE WEEKS trying to reach someone about my claim before I finally got through. The governor's staff doesn't handle individual unemployment cases.

I understand your frustration. While you can reach the Governor's office at 518-474-8390, they typically don't handle individual unemployment cases. Here are more effective options:\n\n1. Contact your local state representative (find them at nyassembly.gov or nysenate.gov)\n2. Submit a message through the NYSDOL secure message center in your online account\n3. Try calling at less busy times (early morning Tuesday-Thursday)\n4. If you need to speak with an agent quickly, I recently used Claimyr (claimyr.com) and got through in about 20 minutes instead of waiting days. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Rdqa1gKtxuE\n\nAlso, make sure your claim doesn't have any outstanding issues that might be causing the delay - check your online account for any messages about required documentation.

I've been checking my account constantly and there are no messages asking for more info. It just says

This happened to me in January - claim stuck pending for 6 weeks! Turns out there was an identity verification flag on my account that nobody told me about. When I finally reached someone, they fixed it in 5 minutes and I got all my backpay the next week. So frustrating. Definitely contact your state rep as others suggested, they can often get things moving.

That's good to hear you finally got it resolved! I'm worried there might be some flag on mine too but with no way to talk to anyone, how would I know? I'm going to try all these suggestions.

If you need to escalate beyond regular channels, call your State Assembly member's office. They have direct contacts at NYSDOL and can often resolve pending claims much faster than going through normal channels. Don't waste time with the Governor's office - not the right channel for resolving individual claims.\n\nAlso check if your claim has any outstanding identity verification requirements. Many pending claims are stuck because of ID verification issues that weren't clearly communicated. This is especially common for first-time claimants in 2025 since they implemented the new verification system.

this is the correct answer!! my brother had same problem for 7 weeks, called our assembly person and magically got fixed in 3 days. governor office is useless for unemployment stuff

try reaching out on twitter too! sometimes they respond faster when u publicly complain lol

Haha I might just do that if these other options don't work quickly. Public shaming seems to be effective sometimes!

I used that Claimyr service someone mentioned above last month when my benefits suddenly stopped. Got through to an agent in like 15 mins when I had been trying for days on my own. cost money but worth it cuz i was about to miss rent. they connected me right to a real person who fixed my issue. check out their demo video, explains the whole process https://youtu.be/Rdqa1gKtxuE

I've heard about this service but was skeptical. Good to hear it actually worked for someone! Might try it myself with this latest issue on my claim.

UPDATE? Did any of these suggestions work for you? I'm in a similar situation now and wondering what actually helped.

Yes! I ended up contacting my assembly person AND using Claimyr to actually reach someone. The agent I finally spoke to said there was an employer verification issue that was never communicated to me. They pushed it through manually and I got all my backpay within 5 days! Definitely reach out to your local rep - that seemed to put some pressure on them internally.