Exhibit 31.1

                                  CERTIFICATION
                                  -------------


I, John A. Celentano, Jr., certify that:

      1.     I have reviewed this Form 10-Q of Clifton Savings Bancorp,
             Inc.;

      2.     Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue
             statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact
             necessary to make the statements made, in light of the
             circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading
             with respect to the period covered by this report;

      3.     Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other
             financial information included in this report, fairly present in
             all material respects the financial condition, results of
             operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the
             periods presented in this report;

      4.     The registrant's other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible
             for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures
             (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the
             registrant and have:

                a.    Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or
                      caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be
                      designed under our supervision, to ensure that material
                      information relating to the registrant, including its
                      consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others
                      within those entities, particularly during the period in
                      which this report is being prepared;

                b.    Designed such internal control over financial reporting,
                      or caused such internal control over financial reporting
                      to be designed under our supervision, to provide
                      reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of
                      financial reporting and the preparation of financial
                      statements for external purposes in accordance with
                      generally accepted accounting principles; and

                c.    Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure
                      controls and procedures and presented in this report our
                      conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure
                      controls and procedures, as of the end of the period
                      covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

      5.     The registrant's other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed,
             based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over
             financial reporting, to the registrant's auditors and the audit
             committee of the registrant's board of directors (or persons
             performing the equivalent functions):

                a.    All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in
                      the design or operation of internal control over financial
                      reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect
                      the registrant's ability to record, process, summarize and
                      report financial information; and

                b.    Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves
                      management or other employees who have a significant role
                      in the registrant's internal control over financial
                      reporting.


/s/ John A. Celentano, Jr.                           August 11, 2004
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Chief Executive Officer                               Date