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Litigation
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2014
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Litigation
Litigation

In the ordinary course of our business, we are routinely made a defendant in or a party to pending or threatened legal actions or proceedings which, in some cases, seek substantial monetary damages from or other forms of relief against us.  In our opinion, after consultation with legal counsel, we believe it unlikely that such actions or proceedings will have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or liquidity.

City of New York Notice of Determination
By “Notice of Determination” dated September 14, 2010 and August 26, 2011, the City of New York notified us of alleged tax deficiencies in the amount of $13.3 million, including interest and penalties, related to our 2006 through 2008 tax years.  The deficiencies related to our operation of two subsidiaries of Astoria Bank, Fidata Service Corp., or Fidata, and Astoria Federal Mortgage Corp., or AF Mortgage.  We disagree with the assertion of the tax deficiencies.  Hearings in this matter were held before the New York City Tax Appeals Tribunal, or the NYC Tax Appeals Tribunal, in March and April 2013.  On October 29, 2014, the NYC Tax Appeals Tribunal issued a decision favorable to us canceling the 2010 and 2011 Notices of Determination.

No assurance can be given that the City of New York will not appeal the decision of the NYC Tax Appeals Tribunal, that such an appeal will not be costly to oppose, that this matter will not have an impact on our financial condition or results of operations or that, ultimately, any such impact will not be material.