Meet Angel King, Breukelen Resident Association President

Last August, Angel King, 37, became the resident association (RA) president at Breukelen Houses. As a 32-year resident of the development, leading the RA board is the perfect next role for someone who was the youngest resident to join the RA board when she was 19 and has stepped up as a leader in her community. 
 
Ms. King recalled a memory from when she was a teenager “acting a little rambunctious and hanging out in the halls,” and former RA President Anthony Barnes approached her and told her she had the power to do good. He asked her to put up flyers for the RA meetings; then she began attending the meetings and, at age 19, became the youngest resident to join the board. 

From the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ms. King and the Breukelen RA were helping residents get the resources they need, door knocking to give out PPE, providing turkeys for Thanksgiving and toys to children for Christmas, and much more. Through World Central Kitchen, the RA helped provide hot meals for six months and gave out fresh produce on Saturdays. Ms. King said: “The Breukelen RA is an awesome team. They execute plans, and everything that’s happening wouldn’t be without them.” 

Through her work connecting with organizations to gain resources for the development, she was linked to a multispecialty health facility in Brownsville called Doral Health and Wellness. It serves seniors and community members with urgent care, an onsite pharmacy, ambulatory surgery, infusion therapy, and more. The organization began donating food boxes to the development, and when it began its vaccine program, Ms. King helped get over 200 residents vaccinated.

Because of her success at outreach and the rapport she has with residents and community members, Doral Health and Wellness offered Ms. King an outreach position in March of this year. “I researched the company because I wanted to make sure I was doing the best for my community, and I thought it was a great organization trying to provide health equity to the underserved community of Brownsville.” 

Through her position, Ms. King was able to hire 60 NYCHA residents to support Doral’s vaccination program. “I’m big on partnership in everything I do,” she said. “Because I run the Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) at the development, I was able to get residents on the phone, and get 60 people. I got them all trained and set up, and they’ve been doing the homebound vaccination program.” 

She’s managed SYEP at the development for eight years. Of all the work she’s done in her community, she said she’s most proud of working with young people. “When you talk to the kids from a peer perspective, they don’t feel like you’re talking down to them. I remember being that younger generation and feeling like my point of view didn’t matter.”  

She also runs her own company, started in 2016, called DREAM (Develop Rebuild Educate Accomplish Maintain, Inc.). “We work with formerly incarcerated residents and people who aren’t residents to help them find jobs and get acclimated with life,” she said. “We provided a remote afterschool program during the pandemic that assisted children with social-emotional growth when they were completely isolated. We help people find resources, social services, housing, and more.” 

And when she’s not working hard for her community, she’s advocating for afterschool programs for children on the autism spectrum, like her 16-year-old son. She believes strongly in paying it forward. “My father, Charles King, was a Freedom Fighter; he worked with Medgar Evers. I’ve always been told how you have to help people, treat people the way you want to be treated. If you know something, you have to share your knowledge – that was constantly instilled in me. I’ve always wanted to share with people.”  

News12 recently highlighted Ms. King as part of its Women’s History Month coverage. View the piece here.