About Our Hastings Officials

Mayor Tom Drake

Tom Drake is currently serving in his first term as Mayor of Hastings-on-Hudson, after two terms as Village Trustee. He has enjoyed working with the Board and Village employees on a wide array of issues affecting the Village. As Trustee, Tom was a liaison to the Comprehensive Plan and Local Waterfront Revitalization Program committees and has worked on issues including environmental protection, infrastructure, and repairing and improving Chemka Pool and its surrounding area following Hurricane Ida.

Tom was born in St. John’s Hospital, grew up in Hastings, and married Hastings native Julia DiSalvo. They now live in Tom’s childhood home with their three children: Joseph, Grace and Timothy. His background includes a long history of volunteerism. He has been a member of the Riverview Manor Fire Company for more than 25 years, and has served as Captain of both that engine company and the Hastings Ambulance Corps. Tom is a Past Commander of the Admiral Farragut American Legion Post 1195 and is a member of the Hastings Little League Board.

Tom works as an emergency management consultant for school districts, after 23 years in law enforcement. He retired from the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office, where he was tasked with investigating public corruption, organized crime, economic crimes, and dignitary protection. Other assignments included SWAT and playing saxophone in the NYPD Band. In addition, Tom is a seasoned instructor who has taught everything from cultural awareness and basic recruit training to officer survival and firearms. Tom also served his country honorably in the US Navy as a Hospital Corpsman.

Tom holds a BS from Excelsior College and an MPA from Pennsylvania State University.

Trustee Douglass Alligood

Douglass Alligood is currently serving in his first term on the Village Board, where his experience as an architect has made him well qualified to help navigate issues of development, sustainability, and diversity. Douglass has been an architect for more than 40 years, working on a wide range of projects: office and residential towers, museums, airport terminals, and adaptive reuse projects. Notable projects include The Spiral, a super-tall tower in New York City; The Smile residences in Harlem; the Isenberg Innovation Hub at the University of Massachusetts Amherst; the National Juneteenth Museum in Fort Worth; and Samson Stages in Brooklyn. He also works on master planning and urban design projects, such as The Battery Park Coastal Resiliency project, that involve community outreach and engagement throughout the design process.

Douglass is a partner at BIG, an architectural firm dedicated to innovative design. As a LEED AP, he has advanced knowledge in green building. Douglass focuses on BIG’s technical expertise in design and building-performance. In addition to design work, he performs project scheduling, architectural detailing, construction administration, code, building systems research, consultant coordination, project budget analysis, and work plans, encompassing all phases of a project. He is a Fellow in Urban Design Forum and a member of The National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA). Douglass shares his architectural knowledge by mentoring young professionals and architecture students to elevate the next generation of design leaders.

Douglass grew up in Hastings, graduating from Hastings High School in the class of 1981. He moved back to Hastings in 2001 with his wife Eva and their children Jordan and Leah, who also went through the Hastings schools. He has always believed in volunteering in his community. He has been a member of the Green Building Code Committee, the Waterfront Infrastructure Committee, and the Waterfront Preservation Committee. While his children were growing up in Hastings, he coached Little League baseball and softball.

Douglass studied architecture at City College and Construction Management at NYU.

Trustee Morgen Fleisig

A Village Trustee since 2019, Morgen Fleisig approaches each issue with the core principle that we should leave the world better than we found it. Exemplifying this approach was his work with New York State to see that the reconstructed Ravensdale Bridge would become an appealing gateway for the Village, with upgraded architectural details, landscaping, and restored access to the South County Trailway. Other projects include co-leading the Village's James Street traffic study, serving as liaison to Westchester County for the Farragut Avenue redesign, and various local zoning revisions. Morgen seeks smart growth solutions that maintain Hastings' local character, and is committed to ensuring that the Police, Fire, and all Village departments have the tools and support they need to succeed.

Morgen is passionate about the Hastings waterfront and its potential. Prior to joining the Village Board, Morgen served on the Waterfront Rezoning Committee and helped craft the plan to achieve consensus in this on-going effort.

Raised in Upstate New York and Washington, DC, Morgen moved to Hastings with his wife, Margie, in 2014. He has practiced architecture for nearly 30 years, designing homes, office towers, hospitals and museums. He enjoys collaborating with experts and craftsmen from all fields, and recently completed an ambitious project with a large multidisciplinary team at WarnerMedia’s headquarters as part of the extensive Hudson Yards revitalization project.

Morgen earned his bachelor’s degree from Columbia College, and master’s degrees from the Harvard Graduate School of Design and New York University.

Trustee Samantha Merton

Currently in her first term on the Village Board, Samantha Merton previously served on the Parks and Recreation Commission for 13 years; the Comprehensive Plan/Local Waterfront Revitalization Program Committee for two years; and the board of the Hastings Education Foundation for 8 years, including two years as President.

Samantha is a Graduate Admissions Counselor and Sensory Panelist (professional taster). With longtime family ties in the Village, Samantha and her husband, Brett, have enjoyed raising their three daughters in Hastings since 2001.

Samantha holds an AB in Economics from Harvard University, and an MA in Statistics and MBA from Columbia University.

Trustee Malaika Sundberg

Malaika Sundberg was born in Rome, Italy, and moved as a teenager to Hastings, where members of her family have lived for generations. She graduated from Hastings High School. After completing college and launching her career, Malaika returned with her husband, Kenneth, to raise their two children in the Village.

Malaika has a passion for helping people in need. She has a master’s in social work and has worked for more than two decades serving New York City Foster Care children and families, developing a specialty in reunification, adoption, adolescent foster homes, and residentially-based programs. Malaika leads training and support initiatives for newly entering and seasoned child welfare professionals.

Malaika’s background in volunteerism began in high school and has since included working with the Jansen Hospice/Bereavement Center of Westchester and serving on the board of the Hastings Education Foundation (HEF), for which she is currently Secretary.

Malaika comes from a family which values community participation and government service. If elected, she is committed to being a voice for all residents in decisions about the Village, with a focus on its continued longevity, growth and sustainability.

Malaika is committed to community participation with a focus on advocating for people in need.

Village Justice Peter Kolbert

Peter Kolbert, Esq. has served as Village Justice since July of 2023, after the death of Judge DiSalvo. Prior to that, he had been the Associate Village Justice since 2020. Judge Kolbert is devoted to using the law as a tool to ensure that all individuals are treated fairly, ethically, and in accordance with the law. To accomplish this, he steadfastly believes the Village Court must express a thoughtful and complete understanding of the facts in dispute in each matter. Judge Kolbert is committed to treating all adolescents who appear in Village Court with sensitivity to promote the proper outcome. Judge Kolbert fundamentally recognizes that a Village Court must reflect the values of its community, be well run, and be accessible to all.

As an attorney Peter has appeared in Village, State, and Federal court, trying more than 200 cases involving numerous areas of the law. Peter has extensive experience in Civil, Criminal, Landlord-Tenant, Municipal Law, as well as Insurance Law. He practiced law initially in public service as Assistant Corporation Counsel representing the City of New York, as well as many New York City entities, divisions, and departments. In private practice for more than 20 years, Peter has represented some of New York’s premier hospitals, hospital systems, and medical professionals. For more than 14 years as Senior Vice President of Healthcare Risk Advisors, he has worked with many New York hospital systems advising them on Insurance, Risk, and Litigation Management issues.

Peter and his wife, Veronica, have lived in Hastings since 1992 and have raised three sons here, all of whom graduated from our public schools. Peter has been actively involved in Village life, having volunteered for the Hastings Co-op Nursery school, the Hastings Education Foundation, and as ethics officer for the Village.

Peter is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts and Brooklyn Law School, and is admitted to practice before the New York Bar.