EXHIBIT 23

                       CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED
                             PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

The Board of Directors
Sterling Bancorp:

We consent to the  incorporation by reference in the Registration  Statements on
Form S-8 (No. 333-97009) and Form S-3 (No. 333-82296) of Sterling Bancorp of our
report dated March 29, 2005, with respect to the consolidated  balance sheets of
Sterling  Bancorp and  subsidiaries  as of December  31, 2004 and 2003,  and the
related  consolidated  statements of income,  comprehensive  income,  changes in
shareholders'  equity,  and cash  flows for each of the years in the  three-year
period ended December 31, 2004, and the consolidated  statements of condition of
Sterling  National Bank and  subsidiaries  as of December 31, 2004 and 2003, and
our report dated April 28, 2005 with respect to  management's  assessment of the
effectiveness  of internal  control over financial  reporting as of December 31,
2004 and the  effectiveness of internal  control over financial  reporting as of
December 31, 2004,  which reports  appear in the December 31, 2004 annual report
on Form 10-K, as amended by Amendment No. 1 on Form 10-K/A, of Sterling Bancorp.

Our report dated April 28, 2005, on management's assessment of the effectiveness
of internal control over financial  reporting and the  effectiveness of internal
control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2004,  expresses our opinion
that Sterling Bancorp did not maintain effective internal control over financial
reporting as of December 31, 2004,  because of the effect of a material weakness
on the  achievement  of the  objectives of the control  criteria and contains an
explanatory  paragraph  that states  that the Company did not employ  sufficient
personnel   with  adequate   technical   skills   relative  to  accounting   for
Company-owned  split-dollar  life  insurance  policies  on the lives of  certain
officers of the Company.

Our March 29, 2005 report refers to the  restatement  of the Company's  2003 and
2002 consolidated financial statements, as more fully described in Note 2 to the
consolidated financial statements.


/s/ KPMG LLP

New York, New York
April 28, 2005


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