Three local Capital One branches are set to close in November.
Capital One began notifying customers last week that the downtown Riverhead location will close Nov. 17; the Main Road location in Southold will close on Nov. 18, and the location on West Neck Rd. on Shelter Island will close Nov. 17.
Riverhead Police arrested a Mastic man in connection with a pair of robberies at two Capital One Banks.
John Gayles, 55, was charged with two counts of third-degree robbery following his arrest Wednesday, police said. (more…)
The building at 1491 Main Road used to house a North Fork Bank branch. (Credit: Michael White)
Citing ever-ongoing efforts to operate “as efficiently as possible while continuing to provide quality service and products,” a Capital One Bank spokeswoman confirmed this week the company will be closing down its Jamesport branch.
It’s one of five branches and one drive-up bank closing in Suffolk County, said the spokeswoman, Julie Rakes.
They will be closing April 24 and April 25, she said.
(more…)
Police say this man robbed Capital One Bank in Riverhead on Tuesday. (Credit: Riverhead Town police)
Riverhead police are searching for an unarmed man who reportedly robbed the Capital One Bank on East Main Street in Riverhead Tuesday afternoon, authorities said. (more…)
CYNDI MURRAY PHOTO | Workers from Liberty Moving & Storage pack up the final items from Capital One Bank building in Mattituck, which is now vacant.
Nearly two years after Capital One Bank announced it was closing the doors of its Mattituck operations center, the Main Road building is officially on the market.
Local officials now have the daunting task of trying to find new tenants for a one-of-a-kind commercial space in an economy that still has yet to rebound from the “Great Recession.”
This week Supervisor Scott Russell floated the idea of a long-term pediatric care facility for the property.
“It’s something we don’t have in our area,” Mr. Russell said. “We are trying to find the right fit.”
He is currently working with county officials to find a new occupant, but admits that may not happen anytime soon.
“It’s a very large building in a very small town,” he said. “It’s going to be hard.”
The building originally housed a supermarket and later became the headquarters for North Fork Bank. When North Fork moved its headquarters to Melville, the space was used for back-office support services.
The company that would become North Fork Bank & Trust in 1950 started in 1905 as Mattituck Bank. From its humble beginnings, North Fork Bank acquired Southold Savings Bank in 1988. Under the direction of former president John Kanas, a one-time teacher and deli owner, North Fork then began an era of rapid expansion and acquired several New York City-area financial institutions.
North Fork was absorbed in 2006 by the much larger Capital One, which acquired it for $13.2 billion.
In August 2011, Capital One Bank made the decision to consolidate a majority of its back-office work, then located in Mattituck, to Richmond, Va., and Melville.
Moving trucks arrived late last week. Julie Rakes, a spokesperson for Capital One, said the Mattituck office is now vacant. The company is working with Melville-based broker Dan Oliver of Newmark Frank Knight and the town to fill the vacancy.
Mr. Russell said he wants a tenant that will bolster economic growth in Southold Town. When Capital One moved its offices in 2011, about 135 people were let go; another 65 or so were laid off in 2012.
Mr. Russell said creating a timetable to find a suitable tenant would be “foolish” under current economic conditions, but he also said he was “all ears” to any proposals.
VERA CHINESE PHOTO | The Mattituck Capital One bank office will soon be closing its doors.
Five years after Capital One took over North Fork Bank, the banking giant is now closing the doors on the Mattituck back office operation on Route 25 that has been North Fork Bank’s headquarters.
“This was a very difficult decision and one that our banking leaders do not take lightly. This is not a reflection of the associates’ performance,” said Capital One spokesman Stephen Schoof in an email Wednesday morning. “All associates are being offered roles in Melville or Richmond and the impacted associates may also post for other Capital One roles for which they are qualified. If they decide to accept these roles, they will be eligible for a sign-on bonus (if no relocation is needed) or an extensive relocation package.”
Mr. Schoof said that the bulk of the 135 positions held by workers in Mattituck would be eliminated Dec. 4, with a handful of associates staying on until the second quarter of 2012.
He added that no decision has yet been made on what Capital One will do with its Mattituck real estate.
At the time of the Capital One takeover in 2006, North Fork Bank president John Kanas said that none of the bank’s then-350 Mattituck employees would lose their jobs, citing little duplication between the work done in Mattituck and Capital One’s existing operations. But there has long been speculation that Mattituck’s back office operations wouldn’t last forever. Last year the bank laid off 29 people from the Mattituck building, according to its filings with the New York State Labor Department, though bank representatives did not comment on the layoffs at that time.
This time they’re being more communicative.
“Our goal in notifying the impacted associates well in advance is to give them ample opportunity to post for other jobs within Capital One or to work with our outplacement services partner to prepare to seek other employment,” said Mr. Schoof. “Capital One is also opening an on-site career development center through which associates can take advantage of career counseling and job search resources.
“We will provide associates with paid time off to use these services. We realize that the impacts from this decision will be felt well beyond our organization, as associates and their families deal with the news.”