Priscilla Almodovar, president and chief executive officer of the New York State Housing Finance Agency and the State of New York Mortgage Agency, resigned Friday.
“Priscilla Almodovar has served New York State with distinction since her appointment to this position in January 2007,” Gov. David Paterson said in a statement. “Almodovar has more than doubled the number of affordable housing units financed during her three years of leadership compared to the previous three years and has become a leading voice in New York State’s housing community.”
Under her tenure, the HFA and SONYMA financed nearly 16,000 housing units, including more than 12,000 affordable units, according to a press release.
Although the announcement seemed sudden, HFA spokesman Philip Lentz said that Almodovar had told the governor she intended to step down in mid-November.
“She felt she had done the job she was brought in to do and she wanted to go back to the private sector,” Lentz said. Almodovar does not have a specific job lined up and wants to take some time off, he said. HFA and SONYMA chairman Judd Levy will serve as acting president and CEO until a replacement is found.
Almodovar is married to former New York Superintendent of Insurance Eric Dinallo, who is considering a run for state attorney general. Both had been appointed by former Gov. Eliot Spitzer.
