Chairman of the Empire State Development Corp. Patrick Foye resigns

Long Island Business News, Mar 17, 2008 by Henry E Powderly II

Patrick Foye, downstate chairman of the Empire State Development Corp., has resigned.

Foye ran the United Way of Long Island from 2004 to 2007 before he was selected by outgoing Gov. Eliot Spitzer for the ESDC post.

Foye had close ties with Spitzer and wife Silda, having worked with both at New York law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, where he was considered a mentor of sorts for Silda Wall Spitzer.

Foye was at that firm from 1989 to 1998.

Before helming the United Way of Long Island, Foye had been deputy chairman of the Long Island Power Authority.

"Given Governor Spitzer's resignation and my belief that you deserve to work with a team of your choosing, I have determined that it is timely for me to resign and return to the private sector," Foye said in a statement.

Spitzer resigned his post as governor, effective Monday, after it was discovered that he was involved in a prostitution ring.

At the ESDC, Foye was in charge of overseeing major New York development projects such as the proposed Moynihan Station and the Atlantic Yards plan, which includes a basketball arena that would house the New Jersey Nets.

David Paterson, who will be sworn in as governor Monday afternoon, will name Foye's replacement.