Tuesday 10/02/25 was my work day, but it also happened to be my birthday š š. In my younger days you would not see me going to work on my birthday. Iād probably be drunk at 8 am. Yeah, I used to go hard back in the day.šBut anyway, back to the topic at hand.
On my Wednesday off (10/01/25), I had repeatedly called HRA to see if I could get a live person to talk to about my CityFHEPS voucher status. They have this so-called āDSS Oneā number that you can call for issues related to EBT, cash assistance and NYC programs. The number is 718-557-1399. Whether youāll get in touch with a live person when you call this number is a whole new debate altogether.šOn Wednesday, I was kept on hold for 4+ hours, which I could afford because it was my day off, but I finally gave up and opted for the callback option, where you ask HRA to call you back when your turn comes. It saves you from staying on hold forever.
Nobody called me back on Wednesday, even though I had literally manned my two phonesāyes, two phonesāwaiting for them to call back.š Do better, HRA.
Anyway, so Thursday 10/02/25, on my way to work. I donāt know if it was some birthday good luck thing, but the unthinkable happened. My phone rang, and when I looked to see who was calling, it was the HRA number on my caller ID. So I answered the call swiftlyāsomething I almost never do, Iām a āleave a voicemailā type of dudešāand the lady on the other side identified herself as someone from DSS.
So Iām thinking Hallelujah, right? ALL my questions about the status of my voucher will be answered today, right? WRONG. As I started laying out my case to the DSS lady, I noticed she was not responding to my questions. Then I heard her say, āIām having trouble hearing you.ā Thatās when it hit me that I was on the subway, and therefore I couldnāt complete the callāreception issues.š
Think about that, the miracle chance HRA returned one my million calls, was while I was riding the subway.šWas that a coincidence? Hmm, we report, you decideš¤·āāļø
***Updated Friday 10/03/25***
So Friday 10/03/25, I figured Iād do a āHail Maryā and call HRA after I got off workāthey close at 5pm. I called at about 3:30 pm and as usual, was treated to a super long time on holdāmore than two and a half hoursš¤¦āāļø
So I decided to stay on the line past 5 pm just to see if it would be different after hours.
An encouraging message popped up around 5:40 pm saying I had a wait time of about 11-20 minutes. Yay, right? WRONG. 11-20 minutes turned into 40+ minutes and then another message popped up saying āIām sorry, weāre having problems with this call. Call back later.ā The call was cut short.š
Think about that. HRA kept a TI for more than two and a half hours on hold, then as soon as he gets to the front of the line, they kick a TI to the curb. Boy, thatās coldšš„¶.
Somebody has to step in and fix this HRA messšš¤·āāļøThe same question againāis that a coincidence? Hmm, we report, you decideš¤·āāļø