Storm Paid-For Hotel Rooms Sit Vacant in New York City

Scores of hotel rooms paid for with public money for people displaced by Superstorm Sandy have been vacant for weeks.

The Wall Street Journal says it reviewed documents that 120 rooms at the Milford Plaza Hotel in midtown-Manhattan haven’t been used since mid-November. They’re part of the city’s network of emergency housing for storm victims.

The paper says the cost for the vacant Milford rooms will be just under $1 million.

The Department of Homeless Services says some unused rooms are reserved so they are available if more seek shelter.

After the city closed down temporary shelters, it relocated people to 29 hotels. That will remain in place until they can secure permanent homes.

The city expects FEMA to reimburse it for the hotels.