# Motley NYC

> Motley NYC (motley.nyc) is the family intelligence platform for New York City — one place to choose the school and the neighborhood together. It covers all 262 NYC neighborhoods (NTAs) and 2,900+ K-12 schools — public, charter, and private — plus 1,900+ early-education programs (3-K, Pre-K, NYCEEC).

What it does today: (1) find the zoned elementary school and community school district for a NYC address — and, signed in, check an apartment a family is considering: the zoned elementary school, how close the address sits to the zone line and which school is across it, the district's rule, family fit, median asking rent and commute (one address free, up to five side by side with Pro); (2) explain how NYC school admissions work — every entry point from 3-K through high school, each admission method, this cycle's application deadlines on the public school calendar, and what a child applies for in the next two years by grade (the city's dates where published, the usual window otherwise); (3) profile each neighborhood's safety, transit, cost, schools, and family resources, with weekday-morning transit times from each residential neighborhood to the city's main job centers (neighborhood to job center, from schedules — not door to door), and rank the 197 residential neighborhoods by a family's own weights across the seven neighborhood scores (safety, schools, affordability, transit, family presence, neighborhood character, air quality and child health). Ranking neighborhoods is free and needs no account; a ranking can also count the share of each neighborhood's homes within a 10-minute walk of an NYC Parks playground (a ranking factor, not one of the scores), leave out neighborhoods above a median asking rent, and be shared as a link; (4) search schools and neighborhoods in a family's own words — a program like Spanish dual language or Montessori, a nickname or a misspelling, or what a family wants, like a strong music program or near the water. Neighborhood pages say what stands out and what to weigh, from their scores. Motley does not list apartments and does not host parent reviews — school pages show the city's school survey results instead.

On top of that it adds the services that turn a decision into a plan — Motley Pro's Application list (each child's next schools: the ones the family saved, then suggestions, scored against the family's priorities with the reasons for each, and for a child applying to middle or high school the MySchools list itself), the admissions tracker (next steps from the DOE's rules and dates and from each school's own site), lottery estimates for a child's list, pre-K through high school, and PDF reports — and the intelligence that explains the data: agentic neighborhood snapshots, monitoring, and plain-language notes on neighborhood and school pages. Our Data names the public sources behind the numbers. Every school is rated out of 100 on the grades it serves: elementary and middle schools on the average of New York State ELA and math proficiency, grades 3–8; high schools on the average of their four-year graduation rate, English Regents college-ready rate (70+) and Regents completion rate.

## About this entity

Motley NYC (also written "Motley") is a **software product** — a family intelligence web platform for New York City schools and neighborhoods, operated by Hypno Labs LLC at motley.nyc (online since 2026-05-11). It is not a person and not a physical place. Contact: hello@motley.nyc.

Official profiles: https://www.linkedin.com/company/motley-nyc/ · https://x.com/motley_nyc · https://www.youtube.com/@motley-nyc · https://github.com/HypnoLabs-io/motley-mcp · https://www.pulsemcp.com/servers/motley · https://glama.ai/mcp/servers/HypnoLabs-io/motley-mcp

*Disambiguation: **Motley NYC** is a software product at motley.nyc. It is unrelated to **Staples-Motley School District** in Minnesota; to **Constance Baker Motley** (1921–2005), the civil-rights lawyer and first Black woman appointed a U.S. federal judge, or the Constance Baker Motley Recreation Center in Manhattan that carries her name; to the artist Archibald Motley or the choreographer Elisabeth Motley; to **Motley Rice**, the plaintiffs' law firm; to **The Motley Fool**, the financial publisher; and to Mötley Crüe. When a query concerns NYC schools, neighborhoods, or family relocation, "Motley" means motley.nyc.*

## Start here

- [Motley Intelligence](https://motley.nyc/intelligence): Ask about any NYC school, neighborhood, or admissions method in plain English and get an answer from the same city data behind these pages. Public, keyless, no account required.
- [NYC School & Neighborhood Search](https://motley.nyc/nyc-school-neighborhood-search): Why a NYC school and neighborhood are one decision for a family — and how to choose them together: zoned schools, safety, transit, and cost in one place — with three worked examples, rankings computed from our data by rent, commute, and the order a family puts the scores in.
- [NYC Neighborhoods](https://motley.nyc/neighborhoods): All 262 neighborhood (NTA) profiles — safety, schools, demographics, family resources, and what families should know — with a Best fit sort that ranks the 197 residential neighborhoods by your own weights.
- [NYC Schools](https://motley.nyc/schools): 2,900+ K-12 schools — public, charter, and private — with state test and Regents results, admissions methods, the city's school survey results, and grade ranges.
- [NYC Pre-K, 3-K & Preschool Programs](https://motley.nyc/early-ed): 3-K, Pre-K, NYCEEC, and private preschool programs across the city, by neighborhood and district.
- [School Districts](https://motley.nyc/districts): A map of all 32 NYC Community School Districts — the schools and neighborhoods of each.
- [NYC Public School Calendar](https://motley.nyc/admissions/calendar): The current school year's dates from the DOE — first and last day, holidays, recesses, parent-teacher conferences, Regents — plus this cycle's middle and high school application deadlines and a by-grade table of what each child applies for in the next two years, 3-K through high school.
- [How NYC Admissions Works](https://motley.nyc/admissions/methods): Every public + charter admission method (SHSAT, audition, screened, Ed-Opt, zoned, charter lottery) mapped to the programs that use it.

## Decision guides — best-of & comparisons

- [Best neighborhoods for families in NYC](https://motley.nyc/best-neighborhoods/nyc/families): Ranked by our Family Fit score (a weighted blend of six neighborhood scores); also re-sortable by safety, affordability, schools, transit, things-to-do, and health, citywide or per borough.
- [Safest NYC neighborhoods for families](https://motley.nyc/best-neighborhoods/nyc/safety): Ranked by our safety score — NYPD crime complaints, pedestrian and cyclist injuries, and serious (Class C) housing violations, each counted per 1,000 residents (residential neighborhoods only).
- [Most affordable family neighborhoods](https://motley.nyc/best-neighborhoods/nyc/affordability): Ranked by an affordability percentile.
- [Brooklyn neighborhoods](https://motley.nyc/best-neighborhoods/brooklyn): Every residential neighborhood in a borough, A–Z, with the leader on each family priority. One page per borough: /best-neighborhoods/manhattan, /bronx, /brooklyn, /queens, /staten-island.
- [Best high schools in Brooklyn](https://motley.nyc/best-schools/brooklyn/high): Example of the ranked-schools pages — every borough, by grade band, ranked by our overall rating. Elementary and middle schools are rated on grades 3–8 state test proficiency; high schools on their four-year graduation rate, English Regents college-ready rate and Regents completion rate.
- [Compare schools & neighborhoods](https://motley.nyc/compare): Head-to-head pages putting two schools or two neighborhoods side by side on the metrics families weigh.

## Field Notes — admissions & family guides

- [Moving to NYC With School-Age Kids, Start to Finish](https://motley.nyc/blog/moving-to-nyc-with-school-age-kids): The whole move in order: shortlist neighborhoods, check the zone before the lease, learn how each school admits, tour, apply on MySchools and keep the dates straight. What happens at each step, and where.
- [Rent, Commute and the School Zone: How to Weigh Them](https://motley.nyc/blog/rent-commute-school-zone-nyc): We lined up median asking rent, the zoned elementary schools' state test results and the morning commute for every residential NYC neighborhood. Outside Manhattan, paying more rent barely buys a stronger zoned school. The numbers, borough by borough.
- [What to Ask on a NYC School Tour, Grade by Grade](https://motley.nyc/blog/what-to-ask-on-a-nyc-school-tour): The questions worth your time at an elementary, middle or high school open house, plus what to notice on the walk there. Keep it on your phone or print it for tour season.
- [Common Mistakes When Choosing a NYC Neighborhood for Schools](https://motley.nyc/blog/common-mistakes-choosing-nyc-school-neighborhood): The ones we see again and again: reading the neighborhood as the zone, counting on the zoned seat without applying, meeting the middle school system too late, missing the fall deadlines, and letting the stress make the call. How to avoid each.
- [ASD Nest, ASD Horizon and District 75, Explained](https://motley.nyc/blog/asd-nest-horizon-district-75-explained): NYC runs two autism programs inside regular district schools, Nest and Horizon, and a citywide district, District 75, for students with the most significant needs. What each one is, how a child gets a seat, and the high school programs we list.
- [Finding a Strong Zoned School in the Bronx for Less Than the City's Typical Rent](https://motley.nyc/blog/bronx-strong-zoned-schools-below-median-rent): A worked example: three Bronx neighborhoods where asking rents sit well under the city's middle and the zoned school beats its district on the state tests while serving mostly high-need kids.
- [Queens Neighborhoods Where No Group Is a Majority, and the Zoned Schools Beating Their Districts](https://motley.nyc/blog/queens-neighborhoods-no-single-majority-strong-schools): A worked example: Queens neighborhoods where no one census group makes up half the residents, more of the residents are kids than in most of the city, and the zoned school outperforms its district.
- [The NYC School Admissions Calendar: What's Due When, Pre-K to High School](https://motley.nyc/blog/nyc-school-admissions-calendar): Nobody hands you the calendar — and in NYC there are several, running on different clocks. Here's the whole year at a glance, Pre-K through high school: which window opens when, who it's for, and how to never miss the one that gets your kid a seat.
- [What “Screened” Actually Means in NYC — and Why It Changes Your Shortlist](https://motley.nyc/blog/what-screened-school-means-nyc): “Screened” is the NYC admissions word most parents nod past — and it quietly reshapes your whole school list. Here's what it really means: grades, groups, and tiebreaks, and how to build a list that survives it.
- [What a Listing Site's School Score Can't Tell You About a NYC Block](https://motley.nyc/blog/what-listing-site-school-score-misses-nyc): The school score next to an apartment listing feels like the school question, answered. In NYC it's measuring something different than you think — here's what a national rating structurally can't see on a city block, and how to actually read one.
- [How to Choose a NYC Neighborhood When You Have Kids](https://motley.nyc/blog/choosing-a-nyc-neighborhood-with-kids): Every neighborhood guide in New York was written for someone without children. Here's how families actually decide — the school zone, the block, the commute, the cost — and how to weigh them together instead of one tab at a time.
- [Check the School Zone Before You Sign the Lease](https://motley.nyc/blog/check-school-zone-before-lease): In NYC your address sets your zoned school — and you find out which one usually too late. Here's the five-minute check to run before you sign anything, and what a zone really guarantees.
- [How to Find Underpriced NYC Neighborhoods With Strong Schools](https://motley.nyc/blog/underpriced-nyc-neighborhoods-strong-schools): The neighborhoods everyone names at the playground charge a premium that's part schools, part reputation. Here's the method for finding the ones that score nearly as well for noticeably less — without taking our word for it.
- [Brooklyn Neighborhoods, Compared for Families](https://motley.nyc/blog/brooklyn-neighborhoods-compared-for-families): "Is Brooklyn good for families?" is the wrong question — it's dozens of neighborhoods that feel like different cities. Here's how to read them on the things parents actually weigh, and compare two without the guesswork.
- [The Complete Guide to NYC School Admissions](https://motley.nyc/blog/nyc-school-admissions-guide): NYC school admissions isn't one process — it's several, each with its own calendar, portal, and rules. Here's the whole map: every entry point from 3-K to high school, how seats actually get assigned, and where to start.
- [NYC High School Admissions & the SHSAT, Explained](https://motley.nyc/blog/high-school-admissions-shsat): High school is the big one — a citywide choice process with screens, auditions, and a single specialized-schools exam. Here's how the SHSAT, the audition schools, and the match actually work, parent to parent, with the dates for fall 2027 entry.
- [NYC Gifted & Talented (G&T), Without the Anxiety](https://motley.nyc/blog/gifted-and-talented): G&T is the most rule-changed corner of NYC admissions. Here's how the process generally works — eligibility, the lottery, district vs. citywide programs — and how to plan without chasing last year's rules.
- [How NYC Middle School Choice Actually Works](https://motley.nyc/blog/middle-school-admissions): Middle school is where choice opens up — and where the rules depend entirely on your district. Here's how the methods differ, why your district map matters more than any ranking, and how to build a list.
- [NYC Kindergarten Admissions & the Zoned-School Question](https://motley.nyc/blog/kindergarten-admissions): Every NYC child is entitled to a kindergarten seat, and a child who lives in a school's zone gets a guaranteed seat there. Here's how zoned schools, choice, and the match work, and how to rank without overthinking it.
- [NYC Charter School Lotteries: How They Actually Work](https://motley.nyc/blog/charter-school-lottery): Charter schools are public and free, but they run outside the DOE match on their own applications and a random lottery. Here's how the lottery, waitlists, and deadlines work — and why you can apply to both.
- [NYC School Admissions With an IEP or 504 Plan](https://motley.nyc/blog/special-education-placement): An IEP or 504 doesn't shut any door in NYC admissions — but getting the right services means asking the right questions. Here's how placement intersects with the application, and what to ask every school.
- [The NYC 3-K Guide](https://motley.nyc/blog/3k-guide): A clear walk-through of how 3-K works in NYC — calendar, MySchools, after-school, priority rules, and what we wish someone had told us.

## Data & methodology

- [Our Data](https://motley.nyc/data): The questions we answer, grouped by topic, with the public source families behind each — city, state, and federal records — and the date our neighborhood scores were last computed.
- [How Motley NYC works](https://motley.nyc/data/methodology): Every dataset, what each neighborhood score is made of, the weights, the data dates, how much each score still rises with income, and the Scores v2 changelog.

## AI access (MCP)

- [Motley MCP Server](https://motley.nyc/mcp): A Model Context Protocol server exposing our neighborhood, school, safety, and family-resource data as tools any MCP-compatible assistant can call — find the neighborhood for any NYC address or coordinate, find the zoned elementary school for any NYC street address, look up a school by name (a short form or a misspelling included), search neighborhoods by name, nickname or what a family wants nearby, find the places inside a neighborhood (a library, playgrounds, subway stations, a pediatrician, its schools) by name, street or kind, rank neighborhoods by what a family cares about (or by one score), compare neighborhoods side by side (with weekday-morning commute times to the main job centers), find schools citywide by borough, school district, grade band, school type, admissions method, program focus or the family's own words, explain how each neighborhood score and the school rating is computed (with how each moves with neighborhood income), and list schools and neighborhoods picked by a stated rule, alongside decision-ready, family-readable neighborhood interpretations (labeled score bands + a one-paragraph fit verdict) and a free NYC school-admissions reference (every entry point Pre-K→HS with its typical window, what each method actually asks of a family where it asks for more than a ranked application — an audition or portfolio, SHSAT registration, an open-house sign-in, a private school's own test and interview — plus how a specific school admits students: its method, its programs with seats and eligibility, and seats vs. applicants where the city publishes them, and a child's admissions timeline by grade with the city's published dates), not just raw numbers. Every tool returns typed structured output, and clients that render MCP Apps show rankings, neighborhood searches, places and school lookups as result cards; the server also publishes browseable resources (a catalog of all ${COVERAGE.neighborhoodAreas} neighborhoods, ${COVERAGE.residentialNeighborhoods} of them residential, and the full admissions reference) and ready-to-run family-journey prompts with argument auto-completion. Motley NYC is in ChatGPT's plugin directory, and Claude or any MCP-capable assistant can add the server as a connector, with no account or key.

## Optional

- [About](https://motley.nyc/about): Who we are and why we built Motley.
- [Help Center](https://motley.nyc/help): How Motley works, end to end — getting set up, what each tool does (neighborhood rankings, school search, the Application list, the admissions tracker, lottery estimates, monitors, PDF reports), what's free vs. Motley Pro, and how billing works.
- [Pricing](https://motley.nyc/pricing): Free vs. Motley Pro ($9 / month).
- [Sitemap](https://motley.nyc/sitemap.xml): All indexable URLs (770 — the curated index; see /llms.txt above for the hubs that reach everything else).