Vosto:

I would be interested to learn more about how you know JRF (acquaintance)? It sounds like you have a good insight into NYB's management, and the way they think. You can tell, from listening to the quarterly conference calls that Ficalora is a control freak, that he requires much attention, and that he possesses great command of NYB's business and the state of banking in the tri-state area.

How long have you been invested in NYB stock? Do you think that Ficalora's eventual goal is to be acquired by a large bank? Do you have any knowledge, back in 2004, if NYB was approached by another bank, to be acquired, and they turned it down? If this chain of events did occur, I would be interested in learning from you, as to which bank do you think wanted to buy them, for how much, and what was the reason that Ficalora turned them down?

Investors has many reasons to be quite disappointed with the performance of NYB's stock price, since the fiasco of 2004. The stock has really done nothing but go down. Yes, it has paid an awesome dividend for five years, but an investor's principal, on the stock, is in the toilet, if they purchased in 2004. Fortunately, for me, I have long term shares, which of course, collect dividends, but have also traded shares, when I felt the price was too low, and sold those shares, when I thought the price had topped out (from a trading perspective). Therefore, I have made money on NYB both in trading it's shares and in holding and collecting dividends. Nevertheless, this is one FRUSTRATING STOCK TO HOLD.

I would certainly be interested in learning your investing and/or trading history with this stock, and some of your answers to the questions that I asked above.

Thanks for your input.