Avi Duvdevani (left) receives an award from PTI's Alan Shark for a broadband over powerline initiative at the New York City Housing Authority. (Photo by Benn Kobb)

Avi Duvdevani, CIO of the New York City Housing Authority, is leaving city government to return to the City University of New York (CUNY), where he began his career as an IT professional. In a note to friends and colleagues, Duvdevani said at CUNY, he'll be responsible for the delivery of the "CUNYfirst" ERP project and will serve as senior adviser to the university CIO.

In a 2004 article by Justine Brown, Public CIO outlined Duvdevani's impact on New York City's IT. Following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, He spent weeks running cables to restore the city's IT services, and as Brown said in the article, "Avi Duvdevani played a pivotal role in New York City's technology history. He was a member of the team that created the city's first technology agency, the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications, and served as the agency's acting commissioner. He helped establish the city's first telecommunications network, CityNet, and the city's presence on the Internet with an award-winning Web site."

Duvdevani will begin his duties at CUNY next month.