Kent Avenue welcomes Dime Community Bank during grand opening ceremony

Dime Community Bank continues to stay true to its Williamsburg roots.

The 154-year-old bank celebrated the official grand opening of its newest branch at 149 Kent Avenue during a ceremony on Thursday, April 26, which was attended by Dime management, community leaders and others who gathered to discuss Dime’s new digs and what it means for the community bank to continue to expand in northern Brooklyn.

“For us, it’s being back home again because the bank started on Kent Avenue back in 1864, where Giandos currently stands, so to have a branch here in the middle of this vibrant  community is great,” said Dime President and CEO Kenneth J. Mahon. “We’re looking forward to it, and frankly, I think it’s the most attractive looking branch in our system.”

Michael Perez, executive vice president and chief retail officer for Dime, agreed.

“We’ve opened a lot of branches in the past year and a half, but it’s especially gratifying to open this location in Williamsburg,” he noted. “That’s really where we had our roots. In particular, this area on Kent Avenue is a growing and thriving community and we want to continue to provide exceptional service.”

“Dime is Williamsburg,” added Assistant Vice President and Kent Avenue Branch Manager Anthony R. Wilson. “This block has a lot of history for me. My father started a plumbing business here 30 years ago when this area was somewhat undesireable,” recalled Wilson. “To be here today, opening this branch is a wonderful thing.”

Dime Community Bank now has four branches in North Brooklyn. Besides Kent Avenue, there are branches at 281 Broadway, 214 Bedford Avenue and 814 Manhattan Avenue in Greenpoint.

What makes this branch unique is both the aesthetics and the service.

“It’s well illuminated, customer friendly and you don’t see any bars or big glass partitions,” said Mahon.

“This branch is special in many ways,” added Wilson. ” One of the great things is the architecture and design of the store. It has warmth, nice ease and comfort. We’re here to make your banking experiences unique.”

He added “The addition of universal bankers adds to customer convenience. They can handle all of the necessary transactions so the customer doesn’t have to seek out different people, speeding up the process.”

“It also helps people get in and get out which is what people want.”said Wilson.

Although the official opening was just held, the soft opening took place this past January. And, thus far, the community has embraced the cutting edge branch.

“The customers at this branch have been great,” said Mahon. “Before the branch was open, they were knocking on the door and asking when the bank was going to open, so we’ve got some great new customers already. We’re thrilled with the soft open that we had.”

“We have been effective in serving the needs of both consumer and business customer,” added Perez.

The branch has already been reaching out to the community. At the ceremony, donations were made to North Brooklyn Angels and local school M.S. 577.

“We’ve been out in the community shaking hands, meeting people, letting them know that we are open for business and that we have so many products and services to meet the needs of people here in the neighborhood,” said Wilson. “You don’t have to leave the neighborhood to get what you need. You have a bank here that can facilitate it and we’ve been well received. We get phone calls and invitations daily to come to events, network, present, or to do business.”