Exhibit 23.1


                             [KPMG LLP LETTERHEAD]


                         Independent Auditors' Consent


The Board of Directors
North Fork Bancorporation, Inc.:


We consent to incorporation by reference in the Registration Statement (No.
333-101009) on Form S-4 of North Fork Bancorporation, Inc. of our report dated
February 26, 2002, relating to the consolidated balance sheets of North Fork
Bancorporation, Inc. and subsidiaries as of December 31, 2001 and 2000, and the
related consolidated statements of income, cash flows, changes in stockholders'
equity, and comprehensive income for each of the years in the three-year period
ended December 31, 2001, which report appears in the December 31, 2001 Annual
Report on Form 10-K of North Fork Bancorporation, Inc.


KPMG LLP


New York, New York
November 15, 2002