The board of the Toronto Community Housing said Friday that Gene Jones has resigned as the organization's chief executive.

The decision came after the board met for several hours in a closed-door meeting Friday morning.

The board said Greg Spearn, a senior real estate executive, will take over as interim president and CEO in the wake of Jones' departure.

Jones will receive a $200,000 package, a TCH spokesperson confirmed.

Mayor Rob Ford, who attended the announcement, called the decision "terrible."

"This is one of the worst days in Toronto's history," said Ford. "It really bothers me."

Ford added that he can't wait till Oct. 28, a day after the mayoral election, when he plans to reappoint Jones. He said city ombudsman Fiona Crean should resign from her position.

"The ombudsman … she's the one who should resign," he said. "I'm going to do what I can to bring [Jones] back."

Earlier this week, Crean blasted Jones' management of the corporation in a report, saying there was "an abject failure of leadership" from Jones.

Ford has long stood by Jones, and yesterday accused Crean of "playing politics."

Crean responded to Ford, saying the findings in the report speak for themselves.

The TCH board will meet next week to discuss other senior executives included in Crean's report.