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                                  EXHIBIT 99.1


Contact:                                     Company:

The Foristall Company, Inc.                  Michael J. Fitzpatrick
Thomas F. Curtin                             Chief Financial Officer
Tel: (610)398-3022                           OceanFirst Financial Corp.
Fax: (610)530-7781                           Tel: (732)240-4500, ext. 7506
email:foristal@aol.com                       Fax: (732)349-5070
                                             email:Mfitzpatrick@oceanfirst.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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                           OCEANFIRST FINANCIAL CORP.
                       ANNOUNCES 50 PERCENT STOCK DIVIDEND
                       RESULTING IN A THREE-FOR-TWO SPLIT


     TOMS  RIVER,  NEW  JERSEY,  April  17,  2002...OceanFirst  Financial  Corp.
(NASDAQ:OCFC), the holding company for OceanFirst Bank, today announced that its
Board of Directors has declared a 50 percent stock  dividend on its common stock
having the effect of a three-for-two stock split.

     Stockholders  of record on May 3, 2002 will be entitled  to one  additional
share of common stock for every two shares of the Company's common stock held on
that date.  Cash paid in lieu of fractional  shares will be based on the closing
price of the  Company's  common  stock on the record  date,  as adjusted for the
split.

     "The stock  dividend  reflects our  commitment  to  maximizing  shareholder
value,"  commented John R.  Garbarino,  Chairman,  President and Chief Executive
Officer "and further  displays our confidence in the prospects for the Company's
growth."



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     The payment date for the stock dividend will be May 7, 2002, at which  time
certificates  for the new shares will be mailed to stockholders by the Company's
transfer agent.

     OceanFirst Financial Corp.'s subsidiary,  OceanFirst Bank, founded in 1902,
is a  federally-chartered  stock  savings  bank with $1.7  billion in assets and
sixteen branches located in Ocean, Monmouth and Middlesex Counties,  New Jersey.
The  Bank  is the  largest  and  oldest  community-based  financial  institution
headquartered in Ocean County, New Jersey.

     OceanFirst  Financial  Corp.'s press releases are available at no charge by
visiting us on the worldwide web at http://www.oceanfirst.com.
                                    --------------------------

Statements  contained in this news release  which are not  historical  facts are
forward-looking  statements,  as the term is defined in the  Private  Securities
Litigation  Reform Act of 1995. Such  forward-looking  statements are subject to
risks and  uncertainties  which could cause actual results to differ  materially
from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors,  which include, but
are not limited to, factors discussed in documents filed by the Company with the
Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time.