NY Community Bancorp moving 400 workers

New York Community Bancorp, the largest Long Island-based bank, is planning to move about 400 support jobs from various locations on the Island and in Queens into a Hicksville office building.

The new location at 102 Duffy Ave. is just south of the Hicksville Long Island Rail Road station and next door to what promoters call Thought Box 1, an incubator for start-up companies.

The bank, based in Westbury, said it chose the site in part for its proximity to the station, a feature touted also by Thought Box promoters.

Being near to transit enables workers to "reverse commute" from the New York City boroughs or from Long Island residences without relying on cars, benefits that promoters hope will encourage more young people to work or live on the Island.

"Bringing several departments under one roof and in closer proximity to the company's headquarters in Westbury will enhance the efficiency of our back-office operations," the bank said in a statement.

"Furthermore, the Hicksville building's proximity to the Long Island Rail Road will facilitate travel between Long Island and New York City, a significant convenience for the company's back-office staff."

A spokesman said New York Community acquired the building at 102 Duffy in December and the workers will be moved in gradually between this summer and the end of next year.

New York Community had assets of $44.1 billion at the end of last year, up 5 percent from a year earlier.

It has two bank subsidiaries: New York Community Bank, with 240 branches in New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Florida and Arizona; and New York Commercial Bank, with 34 branches in Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, Long Island and Westchester County.