NY UI Hearings (collecting, extension, apply, claim)

[boris10475]

I collected PEUC from CT for 13 weeks once original CARES Act was passed in March of 2020. ( my original UI claim was in CT with BYE 3/2020), so I ran out of PEUC at the end of June of 2020.
I did not qualify for EB extension because only the claims with BYE after 5/1/2020 qualified, so I completely ran out of any extensions to regular UI.
At the beginning of July of 2020 I applied and was approved for PUA in NY ( I live in NY) based on my SE income from 2019. For some reason NY backdated my PUA claim back to March of 2020 and they sent me form to fill out if for any of the previous weeks I might qualify for PUA. I indicated that I qualified for w/e 3/21/20 and w/e 3/29/20, but starting w/e 4/4/20 I began collecting PEUC in CT, so there is no double dipping there.
At the time I applied for PUA in NY, I completely ran out of benefits under PEUC,UI,EB and any other program.
At the end of December of 2020 Congress extended PEUC for 11 weeks. Around 1/11/2021 CT DOL mailed me a letter notifying me that I could be eligible for that PEUC extension in CT.
I started calling CT DOL and inquiring, they told me that I had to cancel my NY PUA first, before they could reopen my PEUC claim in CT.
I could not get thru to NY DOL, meanwhile CT DOL contacted NY DOL, NY DOL cancelled my PUA and at the end of January of 2021 CT DOL put me back on my PEUC, which I am still collecting.
Meanwhile, NY not only canceled my PUA, which is fine, but also wants me to repay entire $9,700 I ever collected in NY from PUA,PUC and LWA under the pretense that "I did not accept NY PUA in a good faith as I had valid claim in other state".
I strongly disagree with that determination.
I did not have valid claim in any other state when accepting PUA in NY. As soon as I became eligible for 11 week PEUC extension in CT under 2nd Cares Act at the end of 2020, my PUA in NY got terminated. ( PEUC takes preference over PUA according to law).
There is also Waiver of Overpayment program, but NY does not have applications out yet and I am not sure I would qualify. Maybe I can ask the Judge at the hearings to use that program? I am not sure if DOL or Judges have discretion to apply that program to particular case.
I have hearing on 4/22/2021 by phone. Tried to hire an attorney, but most of them are overloaded, several just turned me down, some of them are flaky, they call you or email you and then disappear.
I would appreciate any advice I could get here. Like any pointers of what I should tell the Judge, what documents to submit, really anything. Thank you in advance.