FAIR VALUE OF FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS, Balance Sheet Groupings (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010
ASSETS
Mortgage servicing rights (MSR)	$ 1,511	$ 2,139	$ 2,840
Carrying Amount [Member]
ASSETS
Cash and due from banks	79,076	43,309
Investment securities held to maturity (TRUPS)	5,927	6,511
Loans, net	3,485,258	3,440,611
Loans held for sale	560	3,022
Accrued Interest Receivable	13,518	15,469
Mortgage servicing rights (MSR)	1,115	1,604
FHLBNY capital stock	45,011	49,489
Federal funds sold and other short term investments		951
Liabilities [Abstract]
Savings, money market and checking accounts	1,587,454	1,366,150
Certificates of Deposit (CDs)	891,975	977,551
Escrow and other deposits	82,753	71,812
REPO		195,000
FHLBNY advances	842,500	939,775
Trust preferred securities payable	70,680	70,680
Accrued Interest Payable	2,528	3,997
Commitments to extend credit	1,238	917
Fair Value [Member]
ASSETS
Cash and due from banks	79,076	43,309
Investment securities held to maturity (TRUPS)	6,195	4,924
Loans, net	3,610,065	3,578,599
Loans held for sale	560	3,022
Accrued Interest Receivable	13,518	15,469
Mortgage servicing rights (MSR)	1,511	2,139
FHLBNY capital stock	0	0
Federal funds sold and other short term investments		951
Liabilities [Abstract]
Savings, money market and checking accounts	1,587,454	1,366,150
Certificates of Deposit (CDs)	907,657	996,022
Escrow and other deposits	82,753	71,812
REPO		223,728
FHLBNY advances	885,774	991,117
Trust preferred securities payable	70,680	67,146
Accrued Interest Payable	2,827	3,997
Commitments to extend credit	1,238	917
Fair Value [Member] | Fair Value, Inputs, Level 1 [Member]
ASSETS
Cash and due from banks	79,076
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	0
Liabilities [Abstract]
Savings, money market and checking accounts	1,587,454
Certificates of Deposit (CDs)	0
Escrow and other deposits	82,753
FHLBNY advances	0
Trust preferred securities payable	0
Accrued Interest Payable	0
Commitments to extend credit	1,238
Fair Value [Member] | Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 [Member]
ASSETS
Cash and due from banks	0
Investment securities held to maturity (TRUPS)	0
Loans, net	0
Loans held for sale	560
Accrued Interest Receivable	359
Mortgage servicing rights (MSR)	1,511
FHLBNY capital stock	0
Liabilities [Abstract]
Savings, money market and checking accounts	0
Certificates of Deposit (CDs)	907,657
Escrow and other deposits	0
FHLBNY advances	885,774
Trust preferred securities payable	70,680
Accrued Interest Payable	2,827
Commitments to extend credit	0
Fair Value [Member] | Fair Value, Inputs, Level 3 [Member]
ASSETS
Cash and due from banks	0
Investment securities held to maturity (TRUPS)	6,195
Loans, net	3,609,505
Loans held for sale	0
Accrued Interest Receivable	13,159
Mortgage servicing rights (MSR)	0
FHLBNY capital stock	0
Liabilities [Abstract]
Savings, money market and checking accounts	0
Certificates of Deposit (CDs)	0
Escrow and other deposits	0
FHLBNY advances	0
Trust preferred securities payable	0
Accrued Interest Payable	0
Commitments to extend credit	$ 0