Mayor-elect Dorcey Applyrs, left, listens to Mayor Kathy Sheehan speak during an event last month at Albany City Hall.

Wednesday is Kathy Sheehan’s last day as Albany’s mayor. Dorcey Applyrs will be sworn in on Thursday afternoon in the Empire State Plaza Convention Center, beginning the next chapter in the city’s long and storied history.

The challenges facing Ms. Applyrs and her city are significant. There are major questions to be answered about the future of downtown and other vital plots of real estate, most notably the former College of Saint Rose campus. The need for new housing, especially affordable units for middle- and working-class families, is considerable. In some neighborhoods, far too many properties are derelict, highlighting the need for investment and tougher code enforcement.

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It will take time to properly judge Ms. Sheehan’s legacy. But in many respects, she leaves her successor with a solid foundation on which to build.

During........

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