Queens welcomes its second Bethpage Federal Credit Union branch as the soft opening celebration takes place on Feb. 5 at 102-32 Atlantic Ave. in Ozone Park.
This will be the second location to open in Queens, following a Sunnyside location opening last October. These two spots mark the beginning of Bethpage Federal Credit Union’s expansion into Queens.
Bringing a location to Ozone Park has been in the works for approximately one-and-a-half years, according to Bethpage Federal Credit Union Chief Deposit Officer Emilio Cooper.
“As part of our desire to expand into Queens, we spend a significant amount of time in the market looking for locations that would be very strong starting points as we continue to work to grow our presence in Queens,” Cooper said. “It is definitely our desire to add additional branches over the next several years in Queens. This opportunity and location was very attractive because of its accessible location, high visibility, availability of parking and its proximity to complementary businesses.”
While the date of the soft opening has already been established, the exact date of the hard opening is still being discussed. It is expected to be some time in March.
“We are beyond thrilled [to serve this community],” Cooper said. “Queens has been a market that we have wanted and our members have been asking us to enter for over a decade. We have always searched for locations that would meet our needs.”
Cooper said part of the delay in expanding to Queens was due to the fact Bethpage Federal Credit Union was looking for branches that were very similar in size to its Long Island locations. Eventually, they reached the mindset of leaving a smaller footprint in order to expand to Queens. This includes having Interactive Teller Machines on hand, with employees on the platform available to assist in teller transactions, opening new accounts, offering loans and taking care of general member services. As a result, the required space was greatly reduced.
“We really want to enhance and improve the communities where we choose to locate our branches,” Cooper said. “What we really strive to do is enrich the lives of our members, which we do by offering very attractive rates on deposits and loans and being there to offer advice and guidance. We’re really excited to be in Queens and be able to extend what we’ve done on Long Island to the Queens marketplace.”
The Ozone Park location will have four full-time employees. Additionally, a financial advisor will be serving there as they rotate through different locations. A mortgage loan officer will be on call there to meet with new members who want to learn more about mortgage loans.
There are already plans for a third Bethpage Federal Credit Union to open in Queens this year. That upcoming location will be in Forest Hills.
