Unemployment benefits are being contested?

I was working as a contract security guard for a hotel for 5 years. During that 5 years the contract company was changed three times and only because I was such a reliable employee I was given the opportunity all three times to be switched over or "grandfathered" over as they called it to the new contract company with no breaks in my on going employment with the hotel while most of the guys from these ousted contract companies were let go and a host of new guys from the new contract company were brought in to replace them. Because of that with the exception of the first contract company which hired me directly and sent me to the hotel as my permanent site in the first place, I had little to no dealings whatsoever with the other two contract companies. I was always advised by the director of security at the hotel to bring all issues to him and he will deal with the contract company on my behalf and that went for everything from work schedules and hrs to problems with my pay check . In September, September 18th to be exact I had to take an unfortunate unpaid leave of absence do to a family oriented issue. Before I left I clarified with my boss at the hotel that I needed a short leave of absence to deal with my issue and that I was planning to return as soon as possible and continue working at the hotel. My boss was very understanding and okay'ed it and not only promised me my job back when I returned but also told me that I was his choice to be the security manager for a new hotel that they were opening in February of 2011. My boss at the hotel also made sure that the news was passed on to the contract manger at the contract company and they didn't refute it and said OK. I contacted my boss at the hotel via e-mail about a month and a half later to let him know that things were looking much better for me and that I was ready to return to work in the coming weeks. My boss wrote back the next day that he was very happy to hear from me and that he was waiting with open arms to accept me back at the hotel and ultimately send me to the new hotel when it finally opens. I was happy and told him that I would reach out to him as soon as I return to the area and we would take it from there. When I returned about 3 weeks later before I could even reach out to him I received another e-mail from him stating that he was very sorry but the jobs he promised me both at the hotel and the new hotel opening in February was no longer open due to massive layoffs within the company and that he will do all he can to try and get me placed somewhere else with the contract company. I said OK and told him that I understand and agreed with the idea of him working along with the contract company to get me placed elsewhere. He than sent me a e-mail back two days later saying that he spoke with the contract companies manager and that he said it shouldn't be a problem but neither of them can promise anything but I should just wait it out and stay in touch. I did just that and waited around for a couple of weeks only to hear nothing from my boss or the contract company. At that point I decided to file for unemployment due to my bills and everyday living expenses mounting up and me having no way to pay for anything. I was processed and ultimately approved for unemployment and started to receive checks. About two or three checks in I received a call from a unemployment rep asking for some clarification of my case because my claim was being contested by the contract company. I explained my story to the rep and was told to continue to claim for my weekly benefits while they investigate. About three weeks later I begin to receive benefits again and everything was fine until two days ago when I received a letter from the unemployment court asking me to report to court for a hearing on April 15th because the contract company is still contesting the reason why I left and don't think I'm entitled to benefits. Do I have a strong case or will they more than likely win? And this is happening in New York City and I do have copies of all the emails that were sent between me and my boss at the hotel basically promising me my job back and than later saying that due to layoffs he could not hire me back.