FAIR VALUE OF FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS, Balance Sheet Groupings (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Jun. 30, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Carrying (Reported) Amount, Fair Value Disclosure [Member]
ASSETS
Cash and due from banks	$ 89,584	$ 43,309
Investment securities held to maturity (TRUPS)	5,997	6,511
Loans, net	3,332,205	3,440,611
Loans held for sale	343	3,022
Accrued Interest Receivable	14,103	15,469
Mortgage servicing rights (MSR)	1,319	1,604
FHLBNY capital stock	42,086	49,489
Federal funds sold and other short term investments		951
Liabilities [Abstract]
Savings, money market and checking accounts	1,410,686	1,366,150
Certificates of Deposit (CDs)	945,012	977,551
Escrow and other deposits	105,145	71,812
REPO	155,000	195,000
FHLBNY advances	777,500	939,775
Trust preferred securities payable	70,680	70,680
Accrued Interest Payable	3,471	3,997
Commitments to extend credit	160	917
Estimate of Fair Value, Fair Value Disclosure [Member]
ASSETS
Cash and due from banks	89,584	43,309
Investment securities held to maturity (TRUPS)	5,603	4,924
Loans, net	3,460,426	3,578,599
Loans held for sale	343	3,022
Accrued Interest Receivable	14,103	15,469
Mortgage servicing rights (MSR)	1,796	2,139
FHLBNY capital stock
Federal funds sold and other short term investments		951
Liabilities [Abstract]
Savings, money market and checking accounts	1,410,686	1,366,150
Certificates of Deposit (CDs)	962,136	996,022
Escrow and other deposits	105,145	71,812
REPO	180,227	223,728
FHLBNY advances	824,495	991,117
Trust preferred securities payable	68,560	67,146
Accrued Interest Payable	3,471	3,997
Commitments to extend credit	160	917
Estimate of Fair Value, Fair Value Disclosure [Member] | Fair Value, Inputs, Level 1 [Member]
ASSETS
Cash and due from banks	89,584
Investment securities held to maturity (TRUPS)	0
Loans, net	0
Loans held for sale	0
Accrued Interest Receivable	0
Mortgage servicing rights (MSR)	0
FHLBNY capital stock
Liabilities [Abstract]
Savings, money market and checking accounts	1,410,686
Certificates of Deposit (CDs)	0
Escrow and other deposits	105,145
REPO	0
FHLBNY advances	0
Trust preferred securities payable	0
Accrued Interest Payable	0
Commitments to extend credit	160
Estimate of Fair Value, Fair Value Disclosure [Member] | Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 [Member]
ASSETS
Cash and due from banks	0
Investment securities held to maturity (TRUPS)	0
Loans, net	5,500
Loans held for sale	343
Accrued Interest Receivable	522
Mortgage servicing rights (MSR)	1,796
FHLBNY capital stock
Liabilities [Abstract]
Savings, money market and checking accounts	0
Certificates of Deposit (CDs)	962,136
Escrow and other deposits	0
REPO	180,227
FHLBNY advances	824,495
Trust preferred securities payable	68,560
Accrued Interest Payable	3,471
Commitments to extend credit	0
Estimate of Fair Value, Fair Value Disclosure [Member] | Fair Value, Inputs, Level 3 [Member]
ASSETS
Cash and due from banks	0
Investment securities held to maturity (TRUPS)	5,603
Loans, net	3,454,926
Loans held for sale	0
Accrued Interest Receivable	13,581
Mortgage servicing rights (MSR)	0
FHLBNY capital stock
Liabilities [Abstract]
Savings, money market and checking accounts	0
Certificates of Deposit (CDs)	0
Escrow and other deposits	0
REPO	0
FHLBNY advances	0
Trust preferred securities payable	0
Accrued Interest Payable	0
Commitments to extend credit	$ 0