When will NY unemployment tourist recovery checks be mailed out in 2025?
Has anyone heard when the NY tourism industry worker recovery checks are supposed to be mailed? I worked at a hotel in Manhattan for 5 years and got laid off when tourism crashed. Applied for the tourism recovery benefit 3 weeks ago and got approved, but haven't received anything yet. The approval notice said something about payments starting in 'early Q2' but that's pretty vague. My regular unemployment benefits are running low and I was counting on this extra money. Anyone know if they've started sending these out yet?
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Natasha Volkova
According to the NYSDOL website, the Tourism Recovery Benefit payments are scheduled to start going out on May 15, 2025. They're processing them in batches based on the last digit of your social security number. If yours ends in 0-3, you should get it mid-May. 4-6 will be end of May, and 7-9 will be early June. This is assuming you've completed all the required documentation including the TR-2025 form.
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CosmicCommander
•Thank you SO much for the info. My SSN ends in 5 so I guess I'll be in the second batch. I'm pretty sure I filled out all the forms - I remember doing the TR-2025. Is there any way to check if my application is complete?
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Javier Torres
mine says approved to but no check yet. waiting 4 weeks already...
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CosmicCommander
•Glad I'm not the only one still waiting. Have you tried calling them to check the status?
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Emma Davis
The tourism recovery benefit program has been plagued with delays from the start. I got my approval notice back in February and just received my check yesterday. One thing I noticed was that they sent it to my previous address even though I updated my address in the NY.gov system. You might want to check that your mailing address is correct in both the regular unemployment system AND in the separate tourism recovery portal (they don't automatically sync).
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CosmicCommander
•Oh no, I didn't realize they were different systems! I did update my address in the main NY.gov portal but didn't see anything about a separate tourism recovery portal. Where do I find that?
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Malik Johnson
DONT HOLD UR BREATH!!! I was approved in JANUARY and still nothing!!!! Called 37 times over 2 weeks and FINALLY got thru yesterday. They said there was a "system issue" with tourism industry workers who had over 4 years at same employer and they have to "manually review" those claims. Rep said it would be "a few more weeks" whatever that means. The whole thing is a JOKE!
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Isabella Ferreira
•same here, approved in Feb, nothing yet. This is ridiculous!
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CosmicCommander
•That's actually really concerning since I had 5 years at the same place. How did you finally get through to someone? I've been calling the main number and just get the automated system every time.
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Ravi Sharma
After weeks of trying to reach someone at NYSDOL about my tourism recovery benefit, I finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an agent this morning. They got me connected in about 20 minutes when I had been trying for days with no luck. The agent confirmed my tourism recovery check will be sent out in the May 20-27 batch and that my application was complete. They also have a video that shows how it works: https://youtu.be/Rdqa1gKtxuE - definitely worth it when you need to actually speak to someone instead of dealing with the automated system.
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CosmicCommander
•Thank you for the tip! I never heard of this service before. I'm going to try it tomorrow. I need to make sure they have my current address for the check.
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NebulaNomad
•does it actually work? seems sketchy to me. why would you need a service just to call unemployment???
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Ravi Sharma
•@profile6 - It's not sketchy at all. It just holds your place in line so you don't have to keep redialing hundreds of times. I was desperate after trying for days to get through. They connected me to a real agent who confirmed my payment date and verified all my info was correct.
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Isabella Ferreira
i got a letter saying approved but check is delayed due to "verification process" whatever that means lol
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Emma Davis
•The verification process they're referring to is likely the cross-check with your employer's quarterly wage reports. This typically happens if there's any discrepancy between what you reported as your wages and what your employer reported to the state. You can speed this up by uploading your last 3 pay stubs to your NY.gov account under the "Submit Documents" section.
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CosmicCommander
Just wanted to update - I used Claimyr this morning like someone suggested and actually got through to a real person! They confirmed my tourism recovery benefit check will be mailed May 25th. They also said there was indeed a flag on my account because I worked at the same place for over 4 years, but that it had already been resolved. AND they confirmed my current address was correct in the system. Such a relief! Thanks everyone for your help.
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Natasha Volkova
•Great to hear! For anyone else reading this thread, the Tourism Recovery Benefit program is separate from regular unemployment benefits, so you need to check both systems for accurate information. The NYSDOL has actually posted an updated schedule on their website showing all tourism recovery payments should be processed by June 15, 2025 at the latest.
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Malik Johnson
•Lucky you!! I'm STILL waiting for mine and now they're saying there's ANOTHER delay for hotel workers specifically. This whole program is a disaster!!!
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NebulaNomad
my cousin works at the unemployment office and she said their printer that makes the checks broke down for like a week lol that's why there were delays for everyone. such a mess!
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Malik Johnson
•OMG are you serious??? A BROKEN PRINTER is why thousands of us are waiting for money we desperately need??? This state is completely incompetent!!!
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Natasha Volkova
•That information isn't accurate. The tourism recovery checks aren't printed on-site - they're processed through the state comptroller's office and printed at a secure facility. The delays are related to verification processes and the phased distribution schedule, not equipment issues.
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