MOVEMENT OPPORTUNITY INDEX
$3 billion a year.
No way to measure if it's working.
Until now.
The Movement Opportunity Index scores NYC neighborhoods on movement equity and shows exactly where intervention is needed. Phase 1 covers 10 priority neighborhoods. Phase 2 expands to all 59 community districts.
Free · Public · No login required
THE FRAMEWORK
A diagnostic score for every neighborhood.
The MOI scores New York City neighborhoods across four equally weighted dimensions using verified public data from six city agencies. Phase 1 covers 10 priority neighborhoods as a proof of concept. It identifies not just where movement equity is lacking — but what type of gap is driving the problem and what response will actually work. Phase 2 expands to all 59 community districts with validated agency data partnerships.
D1 · Access to Facilities
D2 · Programming Coverage
D3 · Participation Rates
D4 · Disease Burden
MOI SCORE
28
OUT OF 100
Brownsville, Brooklyn
One of NYC's highest disease burden neighborhoods — and one of the lowest scores in the Phase 1 dataset.
THE SCALE OF THE PROBLEM
The data exists. The disparity is documented.
The system to act on it did not.
20%
Adult diabetes prevalence in East Harlem
DOHMH Community Health Profiles 2021
6 yrs
Life expectancy gap between Brownsville and Park Slope
DOHMH Community Health Profiles 2015
$3B+
Annual agency spending with no shared accountability metric
NYC Council Budget Reports 2024
LIVE TOOL
Three public diagnostic tools. Free. No login required.
Phase 1 covers 10 priority NYC neighborhoods using verified public data. Each tool gives you a different lens into the same underlying data — from citywide overview to step-by-step intervention recommendation.
Full tool descriptions, audiences, and policy applications →
MILESTONES
Built, validated, and submitted — solo and self-funded.
USPTO Trademark Filed
Movement Opportunity Index · Class 042, Section 1(b) · March 2026
APHA 2026 Abstract Submitted
Oral presentation · Policies to Increase Population Physical Activity · Steven P. Hooker Research Award · San Antonio, November 2026
Medium Article Published
"I Built a Tool to Measure Movement Equity in NYC. Here Is Why It Almost Never Existed."
AHA EmPOWERED to Serve Submitted
American Heart Association national accelerator · Up to $150K in grant funding · March 2026
Red Bull Basement Submitted
Global innovation program · $100K equity-free · March 2026
FPHNYC Fiscal Sponsorship Outreach Initiated
Fund for Public Health in NYC · Unlocks RWJF, NY Health Foundation, AHA, and Hearst grant eligibility
Maillard Howell
Wellness, Performance & Operations Leader
THE BUILDER
Why this creator, this framework.
The MOI was not built from a research lab. It was built by a Brooklyn-based builder with 20 years in wellbeing — founder of a decade long community gym in Brooklyn, leading wellness strategy at Reebok and Rokt, and spending a decade in pharmaceutical science at Sanofi in the metabolism and neuroscience divisions focused on the exact diseases this framework tracks. That combination — community credibility, systems thinking, and data fluency — is why the MOI is both rigorous and real.
CONTACT
Interested in the MOI?
Let's talk.
Whether you are a funder, an agency partner, a researcher, or a community organization — reach out below.