Waiting 18 weeks on my first unemployment payment - 18 weeks in

I applied for unemployment in Buffalo 18 weeks ago and the status page still says pending. It has been a long 18 weeks. I called the state line four times and only reached a recording. Has anyone been through this? How long did it take in the end?

When I finally got through, the agent said my employer had responded late. Once that cleared, back pay came in one payment.