My first unemployment payment still has not arrived (update)

I applied for unemployment in Buffalo 19 weeks ago and the status page still says pending. I would rather hear the honest version than the polite one. The page shows my claim as open but no payment date. Is there a step I could have missed?

Thanks for writing this out. I went through something close to it 8 months ago, and it got easier once I kept a simple log of every call and form.