ALBANY, NY – Mayor Kathy Sheehan delivered her final State of the City Address on Wednesday, January 29, 2025, at SUNY Albany’s Emerging Technology and Entrepreneurship Complex (ETEC) to the residents of Albany, members of the Common Council, state and federal leaders, organized labor, and representatives of the business community.
A recording of the presentation can be found by visiting the City of Albany’s YouTube Channel, Mayor Sheehan’s Facebook Page, or the City of Albany’s website.
Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan’s final State of the City address reflects on 12 years of transformation—a period defined by resilience, innovation, and community engagement. Mayor Kathy Sheehan’s leadership has been rooted in her deep love for Albany, a love that empowered her and the City of Albany workforce to see challenges not as obstacles, but as opportunities to grow and thrive. This State of the City is not just about accomplishments and goals—it’s a heartfelt love letter to Albany, a city that has inspired resilience, hope, and an unwavering commitment to progress.
Mayor Sheehan began her tenure with a $16 million structural deficit, aging infrastructure, a depleted rainy-day fund, high levels of poverty, inequity in city services, outdated systems, vacant and blighted buildings, neglected public spaces, climate change, and the impending closure of the city’s landfill.
Since 2014, Mayor Sheehan and the entire City of Albany team has worked to right-size the City’s budget, secured a commitment of recurring Capital City Funding from New York State, modernized the City’s infrastructure, reduced poverty by 25%, extended the life of the landfill, created a 21st Century City Hall, built world-class amenities, and replenished the City’s rainy-day fund to $17 million.
Mayor Sheehan’s love for her adopted hometown has been her compass, guiding every decision and initiative. It is this love that empowered her to face Albany’s toughest challenges with optimism and resolve. When faced with hardships, she didn’t just ask, “How do we fix this?” She asked, “How do we grow from this?” Mayor Sheehan has taken Albany's challenges and turned them into moments of renewal, setting the city on a course for lasting success.
The address highlighted Mayor Sheehan’s vision when she first ran to become Albany’s 75th Mayor: creating a city where every neighborhood works.
A city where every neighborhood works means a city where:
Every neighborhood is safe:
Reduced crime by 21% since 2013
Reduced crime by 3% over the 5-year average
Attracted the State’s largest Crime Analysis Center in APD Headquarters
Built on the City’s commitment to community policing through crisis case workers, LEAD, the Community Liaison Program, and other initiatives led by our Neighborhood Engagement Unit
Established the Albany Navigates program in partnership with Albay County to bring mental health professionals directly to those in crisis
Every neighborhood has access to quality housing that is affordable to the people who live there:
$620 million in new market rate housing – 2,773 new units – have been built since 2014
$527 million in subsidized housing – 2,330 new units – have been built since 2014
$14 million in rehabilitation grants issued to 617 homeowners
$1.7 million in grants to help new homeowners purchase their homes
800%+ increase in Codes Cases referred to City Court since 2014
Every neighborhood has access to world-class amenities and an improved quality of life:
Invested $16.6 million in our City’s parks and recreation equipment since 2014
New Lincoln Park Pool
New Albany West Community Center
New Albany South Recreation Center
New Washington Park Playground
79% improvement in See Click Fix responses since the creation of the New Department of Neighborhood Services
204 miles of repaved streets and 70 miles of replaced sidewalks since 2014
13,000+ potholes filled annually
13.6 miles of new bicycle and pedestrian paths
School Zone Speed Cameras
25 MPH Speed Limit
Invested more than double in water and sewer infrastructure in the last 12 years ($153 million) than the 25 years prior ($60 million)
Replaced 1,500 Lead Services since 2019
Completed the $55 million Beaver Creek Clean River Project
Planted more than 4,300 new trees
Every neighborhood has access to vibrant economic opportunity:
Secured more than $1 billion in public and private citywide investment since 2014
Population is above 100,000 for the first time in decades
Grew our tax base by 75% since 2014 and cut our taxation rate by 36%
$385 million in Downtown Albany investments
$100 million in Clinton Square investments as a direct result of the New York State $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative
8,520 participants in the Summer Youth Employment Program since 2014
181 participants in the new Year-Round Youth Employment Program
6,283 job placements since 2014
1,246 City residents benefitted from tuition assistance and supportive services since 2014
Join Albany hiring campaign yielded a 39% increase in job applications
More than 100 new businesses opened since 2014
Albany now stands on the brink of a transformational era, with unprecedented opportunities on the horizon. These opportunities turned into accomplishments are the seeds Mayor Sheehan helped plant—the same seeds that prepared Albany to be selected as the future home of National Semiconductor Technology Center and be in a prime position to capitalize on Governor Hochul’s proposed $400 million investment in Downtown Albany.
Transformation doesn’t happen by chance—it happens by design. Every project, every investment, and every policy over the past 12 years has been rooted in a singular goal: to prepare Albany for this moment. From revitalizing neighborhoods to fostering economic growth, to championing sustainability and equity, Mayor Sheehan’s vision has been to build a foundation strong enough to support these transformative investments and the future they promise.
Mayor Sheehan's legacy is not just in what she has accomplished, but in the City of Albany she has set up for success. She has worked to ensure that the next Mayor inherits a city ready to seize these opportunities, equipped with the tools and momentum to turn bold plans into reality.
Mayor Sheehan closed her presentation by highlighting two letters:
The first was a letter found in the Schuyler Statue Time Capsule from 1925. In what Mayor Sheehan characterized as a “cautionary tale,” a local leader wrote, in part:
“Very slowly has Albany developed in the three hundred years of her history. Her citizens seem to have been content to let well enough alone. Great industries like the General Electric were discouraged from locating here. Leading and influential men desired apparently to keep Albany for the most part a characteristically residential city. In many ways the Capital of the Empire State was decidedly backward as compared with the other leading cities of this state and of the nation.”
Mayor Kathy Sheehan said “I know that people like to be nostalgic for the past. I understand there is a certain sentimentality to what were perceived as the good old days. But I, for one, know this city is ready for a future where it is the shining city of the Empire State. We need to dream big. We need to take risks. We need to keep moving forward. We need to do everything we can to grow our city and grow opportunities for people here, and to be the incredible city that I know that we can be. So, let’s not hold back. Let’s do this.”
The second letter was one written by Mayor Sheehan herself—a love letter to the City:
Dear Albany,
When I first laid eyes on you, you were celebrating your 300th anniversary as a city. I was just passing through, but I couldn’t quite shake the feeling that I had found someplace special. Not long after that fateful visit, a new job brought me back. You became my home. You stole my heart.
You are a place steeped in history. And yet you are endlessly captivating. A city that nurtures new ideas and traditions all at once.
I love the grandeur of your architecture, the charm of your neighborhoods, your local coffee shops and restaurants, your theaters, symphony, free plays in the park, museums, and galleries. I love the mighty Hudson River, the serenity of your parks, and the vitality of your festivals, street fairs, and parades.
I love that you are always changing, yet comfortably familiar.
It is not surprising that those of us who choose to live here feel so strongly about you.
We fight for you and cheer you on because as much as we love you, we know you love us back.
With love, yours truly,
Kathy Sheehan
Congressman Paul Tonko said, “I’m proud to join Mayor Sheehan to highlight the remarkable progress Albany has made under her 12 years of visionary leadership. From securing upgrades for our critical infrastructure to expanding opportunities for all Albany residents to thrive, Mayor Sheehan’s dedication to our community has had a transformative impact on all those who call Albany home. She has been an outstanding partner in our efforts to secure critical federal funding for the City of Albany, serving as a driving force in support of projects that strengthen this great city and our entire Capital Region. I’m grateful for her years of tireless service and for her unwavering commitment to building a better future for the people of Albany.”
State Senator Patricia Fahy (D—Albany) said, “From the Reimagining 787 study to the South End Connector, and the new West Hill Community Center to the Lincoln Park pool project, Albany's future has never been brighter. I've been proud to work with Mayor Sheehan, the Albany Common Council, and her administration to deliver transformative funding to projects that have uplifted and reinvigorated our Capital City, created good-paying jobs, and supported our small businesses while building walkable communities and neighborhoods. I look forward to working together this year to capitalize on the $400 million proposed for the core of our Capital Region.”
Assemblymember Gabriella Romero said, “Mayor Sheehan’s leadership over the past 12 years has transformed Albany: stabilizing city finances and expanding opportunities for all residents. Her commitment to smart investment has laid a foundation that will benefit our city for generations to come. As we look ahead, we must continue building on this progress to ensure Albany remains a vibrant, inclusive, and forward-thinking community. I look forward to working closely with her in her last year in City Hall.”
Assemblymember John T. McDonald III, RPh said, “Over the past 12 years, Mayor Sheehan has tackled many difficult issues that as a former Mayor I know may not be recognizable to the public but are critical to the community. Items such as updating the master plan and city code on zoning may not be exciting to some but are critical to the community's success. For most of the Mayor's tenure there have been significant investments in the city, especially in residential development, and it is clear that those early steps have been successful. More critically, the Mayor from day one laid out an evidence and fact-based approach to the financial challenges the city faced, and working with the state Legislature and Governor Hochul, secured permanent funding to help the city's finances which has resulted in a reduced impact on the taxpayers and equitable and fair investment in all of the communities of the City of Albany.”
City Treasurer Darius Shahinfar said, “This State of the City is the true story of our City. It is a story that is lived and told every day by our residents and the public servants who serve Albany, whether they work in City Hall, our Police Department, our Fire Department, our General Services Department, our Recreation, Cultural Affairs, Neighborhood and Community Services, Engineering, Administrative Services, Law, Assessment, or Youth and Workforce Departments. But it is not a story that told often enough by those on social media, in our intrepid legacy media, or by politicians and politician wanna-bes. Many of them think Albany is in decline, but they are wrong. I can state unequivocally that the tale of Albany’s demise is greatly exaggerated. This story is one that I have been privileged to observe and partake in of for 11 years as the Treasurer and CFO of our fair city. We face challenges and a changing world just as every city does, but we have met those challenges far more often than not, we have changed the face of Albany, we have done the right things, and we have set the City on the right path going forward. For those who believe that Albany is in decline and is moving in the wrong direction, I choose to look at facts, and not feelings. If you believe in market economics, market indicators, facts, logic, and reasoning, they show this: our property values are higher than they have ever been, with homes nearly doubling in the last 4 years alone, and our population is over 100,000 people for the first time since 1990 and at it’s highest level since before 1980. And I know some won’t believe this, but crime in Albany is down 21% since 2013 – and that is even with the COVID spike seen in Albany and cities across the nation. Albany is a city people are moving into and not out of, and people don’t move into or invest their money where they don’t feel or see a return on that investment. This State of the City shows you how that happened, how that is continuing to happen every day, and how we are setting the stage for our success in our future.”
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