Morris Park and city-wide leading accessibility advocate
BY JASON COHEN
For several years Lakshmee
Lachhman-Persad worked
in the travel and tourism industry.
But with the boom
of the Internet, she changed
course and has been on a new
path ever since.
The Morris Park resident,
who immigrated here from
Guyana, worked in business
to business and did marketing
and communications for
a company in Times Square.
As many places became obsolete
because of Expedia and
Kayak, she realized it was sink
or swim.
“If you didn’t educate yourself
or go with the fl ow you,
would have been kicked out of
the industry,” she explained.
Lachhman-Persad enrolled
in a new program at NYU for
digital marketing and quickly
adapted to the changing times.
After that she left her full time
job and became a freelance
consultant.
Now in the second half of
her career she is more in touch
with people directly and works
with hotels and restaurants.
“I’m still relatively young
and I wanted to keep myself
marketable in the industry,”
she stated.
But the past year of the pandemic
has been hard. Some of
her clients are not reopening
and she lost her grandmother
to the coronavirus.
However, as COVID-19
wreaked havoc on the country,
Lachhman-Persad had much
more time on her hands like
many people. Being her sister
Annie Lachhman has cerebral
palsy and is disabled, she began
to examine the accessibility
of parks and tourist sites
throughout the Bronx.
“When I fi rst started I
didn’t know what was accessible,”
she explained.
She did research and found
that many places don’t cater
to the handicapped. So, Lachhman
Persad took the bull by
the horns and began visiting
places sites such as the Botanical
Garden and Bronx Zoo and
fi guring out the best ways for
handicapped families to navigate
them.
Lachhman-Persad explained
that a person with a
disability is always curious
how they will be treated. For
the most part there was no bad
behavior towards her family,
but some places just aren’t accessible.
Don’t choose one dentist.
Choose hundreds.
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, A 2 PR. 30-MAY 6, 2021 BTR
While this doesn’t surprise
her since buildings in NYC
were built decades ago, her
goal is to inform people about
the issues and be a tour guide
for families. Over the past couple
of years Lachhman-Persad
noticed many places do not
market their accessibility.
Recently, she published
“Accessible Guide to The New
York Botanical Garden” and
guides for the Bronx Zoo and
City Island. She also created
a blog, which contains useful
information Bronx residents
with a disability can use.
“My role isn’t to get somebody
to fi x these things, that’s
the business owners role,” she
explained
Her work is also published
on NYCGO’s website and she is
especially proud that her family
was the fi rst featured on
how to explore all of New York
City from a wheelchair user’s
perspective.
Since Lachhman-Persad
began writing about accessibility,
families locally, nationwide
and worldwide have
reached out to her. She has
helped them plan trips and
many are grateful for her research.
Her work has not gone unnoticed
as she was recently appointed
to the Board of Directors
of NYC & Company, the
NYC offi cial Marketing, Tourism
and Partnerships organization.
She is also the New
York City Tourism Steering
Committee member for The
Coalition for NYC Hospitality
& Tourism Recovery.
“I feel fortunate and blessed
to see how far I’ve come,” she
said.
Morris Park Business Improvement
District Executive
Director Camelia Tepelus
praised Lachhman-Persad for
her work.
“Accessibility is an important
quality of life requirement
not only for the Bronx
public spaces, but also for our
private commercial areas,” Tepelus
said. “Wheelchair users,
families with strollers, our senior
citizens or veterans with
mobility challenges, they are
all our families and our valued
small businesses customers.
Bronx commercial corridors
welcome each and every one of
them to cross our doorsteps.”
Lakshmee Lachman-Persad with her family at the Botanical Garden.
Courtesy of Lakshmee Lachman-Persad
We’ve Moved!
In an effort to better accommodate our
patients, and to continue to provide
the highest level of dental care, our
Westchester location has moved to
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convenient office.
Visit us at:
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If you have any questions about the new location, or to
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