By Philip Newman
“We are expanding in Queens and have plans to open not only these five but quite a few more as well in the future,” said Peter Meyer, regional vice president of Commerce Bank for Queens and Brooklyn.
“We have had enormous success with our Queens banks,” Meyer said, “and we look forward to bringing more of our banking service to this area which is undergoing significant growth.”
“We tailor our service to the wishes of our customers,” Meyer said. “For instance, our banks are open seven days a week.”
Meyer said the new banks, all to be open by the end of the year, would be at Francis Lewis Boulevard and Northern Boulevard in Auburndale; Fresh Pond Road and Metropolitan Avenue in Ridgewood; Main Street in Kew Gardens; and two banks in Forest Hills, one on Queens Boulevard and one on Metropolitan Avenue.
A company spokeswoman said each bank usually hires a staff of 20 full-time and part-time employees along with lending executives and operations personnel.
Commerce Bank has plans to open 50 new banks in the New York Metropolitan area, including 10 in New York City.
Commerce Bank, with corporate headquarters in Cherry Hill, N.J., employees about 10,000 people at 275 banks in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York and Delaware.
