EXHIBIT 99.1 NEWS RELEASE Contact: Paul S. Feeley For Release:Immediately Senior Vice President, Treasurer & Chief Financial Officer (617) 628-4000 CENTRAL BANCORP, INC. DECLARES ITS REGULAR QUARTERLY CASH DIVIDEND SOMERVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS, April 17, 2008 - Central Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ Global MarketSM:CEBK) announced today that its Board of Directors declared its regular quarterly cash dividend of eighteen ($0.18) cents per share, payable on May 16, 2008, to stockholders of record as of May 2, 2008. Central Bancorp, Inc. is the holding company for Central Bank, whose legal name is Central Co-operative Bank, a Massachusetts-chartered co-operative bank operating nine full-service banking offices, a limited service high school branch in suburban Boston and a standalone 24-hour automated teller machine in Somerville. ###