EXHIBIT 99.1 TO FORM 8-K

                       Filed by Merchants New York Bancorp
                             Pursuant to Rule 14a-12
                    under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

                   Subject Company: Merchants New York Bancorp
                           Commission File No. 0-22058

The  following  is a press  release  issued by  Merchants  New York  Bancorp  on
September 6, 2000.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   Contact:    Alan D. Eskow
                                    Senior Vice President & Controller
                                    Valley National Bancorp
                                    (973) 305-4003

                                    Eric Gould
                                    Executive Vice President
                                    Merchants New York Bancorp, Inc.
                                    (212) 973-6637

Valley National Bancorp to acquire Merchants New York Bancorp for $375 million

WAYNE, NJ - September 6, 2000 -Valley National Bancorp  (NYSE:VLY) and Merchants
New York Bancorp,  Inc. (NASDAQ NMS:MBNY) jointly announced today that they have
entered into a definitive merger agreement by which Valley National Bancorp will
acquire  Merchants  for common stock valued at $375  million,  based on Valley's
current market value.  Merchants New York Bancorp is the holding company for The
Merchants  Bank of New York,  a  commercial  bank with  $1.4  billion  in assets
operating seven offices all located in Manhattan.

Pursuant to the agreement,  Merchants New York Bancorp, Inc. will be merged into
Valley  National  Bancorp and The Merchants Bank of New York will be merged into
Valley  National Bank. The Merchants Bank will continue to operate in Manhattan,
under its existing name, as a division of Valley  National Bank. The acquisition
of Merchants is structured as a tax-free merger to be accounted for as a pooling
of interests. Each of the 18,645,488 outstanding shares

<PAGE>

of Merchants  common stock will be exchanged  for .7634 shares of Valley  common
stock.  Valley will issue 14,233,965  shares of its common stock in exchange for
the  outstanding  shares of  Merchants.  At June 30, 2000,  Merchants  had $96.7
million of shareholders  equity.  In connection with the execution of the merger
agreement,  Merchants  also  granted  Valley  an  option to  acquire  19.9%,  or
approximately 4.7 million shares from Merchants' authorized, but unissued common
stock.

Valley  National  Bank with  $6.2  billion  in  assets,  is a highly  efficient,
top-performing super community bank that emphasizes middle market commercial and
consumer  lending.  The Bank has a record of 72 consecutive  years of profitable
operation and a long history of increased  dividends.  The Bank has a successful
record of leveraging its proven super community bank strategy in its 17 previous
acquisitions during the past 23 years. Mr. Gerald H. Lipkin, Chairman, President
and CEO of Valley,  noted,  "The merger with  Merchants is  consistent  with our
company's  strategy of highly focused growth within  Northern New Jersey and the
contiguous  local market through new branches and  acquisitions  of other strong
financial  institutions.  The  Merchants  Bank  of  New  York  is a  traditional
commercial  bank with a low risk,  superb middle market lending  expertise and a
credit culture very similar to Valley's  business model. All seven of Merchants'
offices are located in midtown  Manhattan,  a distance of approximately 15 miles
from  Wayne  and  most of its  customers  are  within  45  minutes  of  Valley's
headquarters. This proximity will allow Valley to continue to operate as a super
community bank. Over the years, Merchants has developed a strong following among
small-  to   medium-sized   companies   that  want  to  maintain  their  banking
relationship with senior management and

<PAGE>

the decision makers in the bank.  This closely follows Valley's approach to
lending and highlights the attractiveness of the merger."

Mr. Lipkin added, "The Merchants Bank of New York has a relatively large
commercial loan base, and has shown improved earnings and earnings per share
performance in each of the last seven years."

"We expect this  acquisition  to  generate  sufficient  cost  savings to make it
accretive to earnings during the first year. Additionally,  since Merchants does
not focus on consumer  banking,  a major strength at Valley,  we view this as an
opportunity  to  enhance  Merchants  revenue  stream  and a  significant  growth
opportunity. Valley's goal in acquisitions is to price transactions so that they
are accretive to Valley's per share  earnings  during the first year of combined
operations."

Mr.  Spencer B. Witty,  who is Chairman of Merchants New York Bancorp,  Inc. and
who will  become  a Vice  Chairman  of  Valley,  indicated  that  "the  proposed
affiliation  with Valley will bring  together  two great  banking  institutions,
creating a much  stronger  franchise and market  presence.  We believe that this
transaction will position  Merchants for the future."  Merchants will be able to
provide larger loans to customers as a result of Valley's greater lending limit.
Customers will easily be able to obtain residential mortgages, auto and consumer
loans,  and take  advantage of Valley's  trust,  asset  management and insurance
services.  Valley also provides an extended-hour  customer  service  department,
substantial ATM locations,  debit cards,  on-line  real-time banking and a broad
base of branch  locations,  all of which will be available at The Merchants Bank
of New York.

<PAGE>

Mr. James G. Lawrence, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Mr. William
J. Cardew, Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer and Mr.Eric Gould, EVP,
will also join Valley's senior management team following the merger.  In
addition, Messrs. Spencer Witty, Robinson Markel, and Charles Baum, Directors
of Merchants, will join Valley's Board of Directors following the merger.

The acquisition is conditioned upon necessary regulatory approvals, the approval
of Valley and Merchants shareholders and other customary conditions. The parties
anticipate that the merger will be consummated in the first quarter of 2001.

Valley  National  Bank,  the principal  subsidiary of Valley  National  Bancorp,
currently  operates 117 branches in 76  communities  in Bergen,  Essex,  Hudson,
Middlesex,  Morris, Passaic,  Somerset, Sussex, Union and Warren counties in New
Jersey.

Investor  Conference  Call: To participate in an analyst  presentation  at 11:00
a.m., EDT, Wednesday,  September 6, 2000, dial toll-free 1-800-450-0818,  access
code Valley.  The  presentation  can be played back  beginning  1:00 p.m. EDT on
September 6, 2000 and running through 11:59 p.m. on September 7, 2000 by calling
1-800-475-6701,  access code 537260. The analyst presentation can also be viewed
on Valley's website @ www.valleynationalbank.com.

<PAGE>

INFORMATION FOR INVESTORS AND STOCKHOLDERS

This  document  contains  forward-looking  statements  concerning  the financial
condition,   results  of  operations  and  business  of  Valley   following  the
consummation of its proposed acquisition of Merchants, the anticipated financial
and other benefits of the proposed  acquisition  and the plans and objectives of
Valley's  management  following  the proposed  acquisition,  including,  without
limitation,  statements relating to the cost savings expected to result from the
proposed  acquisition,  and  anticipated  results of  operations of the combined
company following the proposed acquisition.  Generally, the words "will," "may,"
"should,"   "continue,"   "believes,"   "expects,"   "anticipates"   or  similar
expressions   identify   forward-looking   statements.   These   forward-looking
statements  involve  certain risks and  uncertainties.  Factors that could cause
actual   results  to  differ   materially   from  those   contemplated   by  the
forward-looking  statements  include,  among others, the following factors:  (1)
cost savings  expected to result from the proposed  acquisition may not be fully
realized or  realized  within the  expected  time  frame;  (2)operating  results
following the proposed  acquisition may be lower than expected;  (3) competitive
pressure among  financial  services  companies may increase  significantly;  (4)
costs or difficulties related to the integration of the businesses of Valley and
Merchants may be greater than expected; (5) adverse changes in the interest rate
environment may reduce  interest  margins of the combined  company;  (6) general
economic  conditions,  whether nationally or in the market areas in which Valley
and  Merchants  conduct  business,  may be less  favorable  than  expected;  (7)
legislation or regulatory  changes may adversely  affect the businesses in which
Valley and  Merchants  are  engaged;  or (8)  adverse  changes  may occur in the
securities  markets.  Readers  are  cautioned  not to place  undue  reliance  on
forward-looking  statements  which are  subject to  influence  by the named risk
factors and  unanticipated  future events.  Actual results may differ materially
from management expectations.  Both Valley and Merchants disclaim any obligation
to update or revise any  forward-looking  statements  based on the occurrence of
future events, the receipt of new information, or otherwise.

Valley   and   Merchants   will  be   filing   with   the  SEC  a  joint   proxy
statement-prospectus   with  respect  to   solicitation   of  proxies  of  their
stockholders  to  approve  the  proposed  merger  and  Valley  will be  filing a
registration  statement  with  respect to the  common  stock to be issued in the
merger.  Investors  and  security  holders  are  advised to read the joint proxy
statement-prospectus  and  the  registration  statement,   when  each  of  these
documents  becomes  available,  because  each of  them  will  contain  important
information.  Investors and security holders may obtain a free copy of the joint
proxy  statement-prospectus  and the registration statement (when available) and
other  documents filed by Valley or Merchants with the SEC at the SEC's Internet
web  site  at  www.sec.gov.   The  joint  proxy   statement-prospectus  and  the
registration statement (when available) and such other documents filed by Valley
with the SEC will be  available  free of charge by  contacting  Valley  National
Bancorp, 1455 Valley Road, Wayne, NJ 07474, Attention:  Dianne Grenz, telephone:
(973) 305-3380. Documents filed with the SEC by Merchants will be available free
of charge by contacting  Merchants New York Bancorp,  Inc., 275 Madison  Avenue,
New York, NY 10016,  Attention:  Karen Deitz,  Corporate  Secretary,  telephone:
(212)  973-6638.   Shareholders  and  investors  should  read  the  joint  proxy
statement-prospectus  carefully  when it  becomes  available  before  making any
voting or investment decisions.

Merchants and its directors and executive  officers may be deemed under rules of
the SEC to be  "participants  in the  solicitation"  of proxies  from  Merchants
stockholders  to  approve  the  proposed  merger.  Those  persons,  each of whom
beneficially  owns  less  than 1% of  Merchants'  outstanding  shares  except as
otherwise  indicated  after his or her name,  are:  Charles J. Baum  (director),
William J. Cardew (director and executive officer),  Eric W. Gould (director and
executive officer, 1.98%), Rudolf H. Hertz (director,  2.17%), James G. Lawrence
(director and executive officer, 1.64%), Robinson Markel (director, 2.21%), Paul
Meyrowitz  (director),  Alan Mirken  (director),  Mitchell J. Nelson  (director,
1.35%),  Leonard Schlussel  (director,  2.25%),  Charles I. Silberman (director,
2.74%),  Marcia  Toledano  (director,  2.76%) and Spencer B. Witty (director and
executive  officer,  9.06%).  As a group, all Merchants  directors and executive
officers (13 persons) beneficially own 23.8% of Merchants' outstanding shares.