Established in 1965, North East Area Development aims to revitalize and stabilize Rochester’s Sector 8 neighborhood. To do so, the nonprofit focuses on renovating homes for low to moderate-income residents and commercial properties to reduce neighborhood blight. The nonprofit played a lead role in renovating a former plastics manufacturing plant to accommodate Freedom School, a year-round school for youth from K-12, which focuses on fostering reading and conflict resolution skills, and engaging students in civic and social action activities. In 2012, it opened The Freedom Market, a community-owned store that enables area residents without access to transportation to access healthy food, and in 2013, it added a Café that provides workforce development and employment for area residents.