Virtual Shareholders Meeting for Provident New York Bancorp

MONTEBELLO, NY--(Marketwire - Jan 16, 2013) - Provident New York Bancorp (NYSE: PBNY), parent company of Provident Bank, announced that the annual shareholder meeting this year would be a virtual meeting accessible via the Internet. This is the first virtual annual shareholder meeting for Provident New York Bancorp. The annual shareholder meeting presentation will be available live online for all shareholders of record at 11:00 a.m., Eastern Standard Time, on Thursday, February 21, 2013. Shareholders can access the meeting at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/PBNY 15 minutes prior to meeting start time by entering their Proxy Control Number.

Provident Bank will donate to the United Way to support local programs in the Hudson Valley with the savings resulting from moving from an in-person annual shareholder meeting to a virtual meeting.

"Technology has evolved to a point where the virtual meeting is a better experience for our shareholders," said William F. Helmer, chairman of the board of Provident New York Bancorp. "The virtual meeting gives better access to all of our shareholders to participate in the annual meeting, experience the full presentation, vote, and ask questions."

"We are pleased that we could redirect our savings from switching to a virtual shareholder meeting to support the local programs of the United Way," said Jack L. Kopnisky, president and CEO of Provident Bank. "We have been a long-time partner with the United Way and this donation improves our impact on the local community far greater than a shareholder meeting could."

Provident Bank, with $4 billion in assets, is a growing financial services firm that specializes in the delivery of service and solutions to business owners, their families, and consumers in communities within the greater New York City metropolitan area through teams of dedicated and experienced relationship managers. Provident Bank offers a complete line of commercial, business, and consumer banking products and services. For more information, visit www.providentbanking.com.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS AND ASSOCIATED RISK FACTORS
Any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact, including those that anticipate future growth, may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties that may adversely affect the Company's ability to realize its plans. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which apply only as of the date of this press release. There are a number of important factors described in documents filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission and other factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly release the results of any revisions to those forward-looking statements which may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.