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                                                                    Exhibit 99.1


                                 CERTIFICATIONS

PURSUANT TO SECTION 302 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002

I, Louis J. Cappelli, certify that:

      1.    I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q of Sterling
            Bancorp (the "Company");

      2.    Based on my knowledge, this quarterly 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 quarterly report;

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

      4.    The Company's other certifying officer and I are responsible for
            establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as
            defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-14 and 15d-14) for the Company and
            we have:

            a)    designed such disclosure controls and procedures to ensure
                  that material information relating to the Company, including
                  its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others
                  within those entities, particularly during the period in which
                  this quarterly report is being prepared;

            b)    evaluated the effectiveness of the Company's disclosure
                  controls and procedures as of a date within 90 days prior to
                  the filing date of this quarterly report (the "Evaluation
                  Date"); and

            c)    presented in this quarterly report our conclusions about the
                  effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures based
                  on our evaluation as of the Evaluation Date;

      5.    The Company's other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based
            on our most recent evaluation, to the Company's auditors and the
            audit committee of the Company's board of directors (or persons
            performing the equivalent function):

            a)    all significant deficiencies in the design or operation of
                  internal controls which could adversely affect the Company's
                  ability to record, process, summarize and report financial
                  data and have identified for the Company's auditors any
                  material weaknesses in internal controls; and

            b)    any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management
                  or other employees who have a significant role in the
                  Company's internal controls; and

      6.    The Company's other certifying officer and I have indicated in this
            quarterly whether or not there were significant changes in internal
            controls or in other factors that could significantly affect
            internal controls subsequent to the date of our most recent
            evaluation, including any corrective actions with regard to
            significant deficiencies and material weaknesses.

                                        Date: 11/12/02



                                        /s/   Louis J. Cappelli
                                        Name:  Louis J. Cappelli
                                        Title: Chairman and Chief Executive
                                               Officer

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