BUFFALO, N.Y. — During the Governor's news conference Thursday, it was announced the state would be streamlining the process to file for unemployment at 7 p.m. Thursday.
Later Thursday night, a spokesperson with the state released a statement saying in part, "As we are currently migrating to a new system today, applications will be accepted beginning at 7:30 a.m. (Friday). When New Yorkers log in to the Department of Labor's system tomorrow, they will find a new, improved and more user-friendly application allowing them to better access the benefits they deserve."
Dozens of viewers have reached out to 2 On Your Side with questions about filing for unemployment. People who are told to call after filling out forms online say they've been stuck on hold or can't get through. A lot of people say if they do manage to get through, they're put on hold for two hours, then they're hung up on.
The problem is that there are only 1,000 people answering the phones, and last week 350,000 new claims were filed in New York State. In addition, 810,000 have been filed since March 9, and more than 200,000 still have partial status, meaning they haven't been finalized.
Those are the people who more than likely have to call and talk to someone with the state.
Pandora Kew is furloughed from her job. She has been trying to finalize her claim for weeks after getting a letter from the state listing her as working at the wrong place.
"I realized there was no escaping this. I have to talk to a human being, and then began the most amount of phone calls to one phone number I think I've ever made. My phone stops counting how many phone calls I make after I hit 200, so all I can tell you is that I've made a minimum of 200 calls a day. I can tell you it's a lot more than that. A couple days ago, I spent a total of four hours on the phone trying to connect with somebody," says Kew.
The system was rebooted Thursday from 5 to 7 p.m.
"It's streamlined. There are fewer questions and once you get to the end of that, if you successfully fill it out it's going to say, 'You're finished with the application process.' If there's any information that's left blank, it's going to say 'Don't call us, We will call you within 72 hours," said, Melissa DeRosa, the secretary to the Governor of New York.
With Google's help, the state is hoping to ease the wait times.
As Kew spends her days trying to get through to the NYS Department of Labor, she knows she's not alone.
"I recognize I'm one of the lucky ones. At least I got my application in. At least currently, I live with my parents, and I was living in an apartment, but I moved back into my parents’ before I switched apartments, thank God I did that or else I wouldn't be able to make my rent payments right now. I wouldn't be able to make my bill payments. I'm in a privileged position because I have parents who can financially support me. I can only imagine what people are going through who don't have that safety net and are waiting on unemployment checks that they have no idea when they will arrive," says Kew.
If you haven't been able to file yet, your checks will be retroactive. And, 2 On Your Side was able to get the labor department to answer one question on Twitter - if you are eligible for unemployment, your first payment will generally be made in two to three weeks from the time you file.
Kew has this advice for anyone trying to get through.
"I've learned to hit redial while I'm watching TV and doing other things. I'm just sitting here redialing over and over. I managed to watch an entire TV series while hitting the redial button. And, it's normally here's what happens, you call there's a busy tone, sometimes automatically disconnects you, sometimes you have to disconnect yourself, and then occasionally one out of every fifty calls this happens you actually get through to the teleprompter system where it says to continue with English press one, and then you go through the process of entering your social, entering your specialized pin that you created online. I try to indicate that I started my application online and I now needed completed over the phone and then they say, oh, I'm sorry, all our representatives are busy at the moment. I'm sorry, you can't speak to us, and then they automatically hang up on you," she says.
Another viewer says he’s tried calling 1,612 times and gets a busy signal or it hangs up on him.
Aaron Koscielniak of Buffalo told 2 on Your Side he's been trying to file for more than two and a half weeks. He said, "Sunday alone I've spent probably about eight to 10 hours. I was calling all day long. My phone says I've called 715 times."
He added, "I've turned this into my job at this point trying to call."
Koscielniak says the online portion of his application wasn't nearly as bad, but he still had to start over a few times due to the session timing out.
When he learned of the changes coming to the system, he said, "I am 100% hoping that within the next 72 hours I will be getting a call back."
