Report: NYC booked hotel rooms for homeless at $629 a night

NEW YORK -- A new report says New York City paid a rate of $629 a night to house homeless people at a Manhattan hotel on two days in September.

The report, issued Wednesday by Comptroller Scott Stringer, says the city booked 30 rooms at that rate on Sept. 19 and Sept. 20.

The mayor's office says Manhattan hotel costs rose on those days because of United Nations meetings.

The report says that over a year, there were 815 bookings at two midtown Manhattan hotels for $400 a night or more.

It says the average daily rate paid by the city is around $194.

Mayoral spokeswoman Aja Worthy-Davis says the city works to contain costs. She says there's a need for "citywide acceptance" of efforts to expand shelter space.