Buffalo, NY - What once was old is new again in Buffalo thanks, in part, to the efforts of Mark R. Paradowski – a rising change agent in the city.
Paradowski is a database analyst for Fluent Energy who also devotes 30-plus hours a week working as a volunteer associate with Buffalo Young Preservationists (BYP). The non-profit agency advocates for the adaptive reuse of historic, architecturally and culturally significant buildings in Buffalo.
Paradowski led the BYP to its first great preservation victory in 2015 when the group saved the long vacant Wildroot Building, in the city’s Bailey-Walden section, from demolition. The former hair tonic factory is now on the Seven to Save list of the Preservation League of New York State. A campaign is underway to fund the rehabilitation of the 1929 building.
Subsequent preservation projects with which Paradowski is involved include the Sattler/Broadway Theater on Broadway Avenue. He also participated in clean-up events at the former Immaculate Conception Church on Edward Street, the Central Terminal and the recently re-opened Varsity Theatre on Bailey Avenue.
Paradowski is similarly involved with restoring and preserving forgotten homes in some of Buffalo’s oldest neighborhoods. He purchased one on his former street at 100 Wood Avenue, saved it from demolition and is now bringing it back to its original 1920s form.
To make people aware of houses that are in imminent danger of being demolished, Paradowski created and maintains preservationready.org. His efforts to breathe new life into Buffalo landmarks earned Paradowski the 2016 Advocacy and Outreach Award, presented by Preservation Buffalo Niagara.
