Jobless LI '99ers' try to cope as benefits run out

Some Long Island members of the group of long-term unemployed known as the "99ers" assembled Thursday on the steps of Federal Hall on Wall Street to protest the failure of Washington to extend unemployment benefits past the maximum 99-week cap.

More than 10,000 Long Islanders exhausted their 99 weeks of unemployment benefits as of Aug. 6, according to the New York State Labor Department; statewide, the number was 70,957. There is little appetite in Congress to extend the group's benefits further.

That is unwelcome news to some jobless Long Islanders who made the journey to Manhattan Thursday. Here's what some of them had to say.

Bob Kohl

Status: Maximum benefit exhausted

Kohl worked as an IT project manager for a company in Manhattan for 11 years before losing his job in May 2007. He has passed the 99-week mark but found a constructive way to deal with it with by starting a job club to help people find work. He is considering becoming a motivational speaker.

"I'm trying . . . to stay positive, because once the negative takes a stranglehold, I won't be able to sell myself," said Kohl, who is over 50 and lives in Suffolk County.

Kohl said he sent out at least 200 resumes with no luck, and partly blamed the international nature of his business for his difficulty finding a job.

"We once had an America where you could work hard until you eventually retire, to [now having] one that is deeply involved with globalization," he said.

Anne Strauss

Status: Maximum benefit exhausted

"I want a job. Extended benefits would be helpful, but I'd much prefer a job," said Strauss, 58, of Smithtown.

She lost her job in public relations for a Long Island technology firm in 2008 and estimated that she has sent out about 2,000 resumes since then, resulting in only two interviews.

The strain has forced her to put her house, which she has lived in for 14 years, up for sale because it's her only asset. She said her husband had to move to Albany because it was the only place he could find work.

She received her last check two weeks ago and said she will take any job at this point. "I never imagined I would be unemployed for 50 weeks, let alone 99," she said. "I'm not a fossil, I'm very capable of working."

Theresa Iacovo

Status: One week shy of exhausting maximum benefit

"I can't live on what I get from unemployment, but at least I have food," Iacovo, 48, of Lindenhurst, said. "I can't buy steak, but at least I can buy peanut butter."

Iacovo worked in the service department of a heating and air-conditioning company for three years before losing her job months ago. She has since applied for jobs ranging from waitressing to driving a truck. Iacovo said she has sent out resumes to at least 1,500 companies, including as far south as Florida and Georgia, where her mother and other relatives live. She has gotten one interview. Iacovo said that once she loses her benefits, she plans to move in with friends while continuing her job search.

Marion Glandorf

Status: Not close to exhausting maximum benefit

A sign draped over Glandorf's shoulders read "Experienced Executive Administrative Assistant." The Ridge resident handed out her resume Thursday to anyone who would take it. She worked at a realty company on Roosevelt Island for five years before getting laid off a few months ago. She said she has sent out 300 resumes, but has only landed four interviews, which she partly attributed to ageism.

"I've gone on interviews and I can say that my knowledge is good and my experience is good, but the problem is how I appear," said Glandorf, who declined to reveal her age.

Though Glandorf said she attended the rally to support her fellow unemployed protesters, she is aware the shoe could be on the other foot. "I'm unemployed. I haven't gotten to the 99-week mark, but I could, and then what happens?"