FORM 4 Check this box if no longer subject to Section 16. Form 4 or Form 5 obligations may continue. See Instruction 1(b).

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Section 17(a) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940

OMB APPROVAL OMB Number: 3235-0287 Expires: January 31, 2005 Estimated average burden hours per response... 0.5

(Print or Type Responses)

1. Name and Address of Reporting Person * ESKOW ALAN D   2. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol VALLEY NATIONAL BANCORP [VLY] 5. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer (Check all applicable) _____ Director _____ 10% Owner __X__ Officer (give title below) _____ Other (specify below) Senior EVP & CFO (Last) (First) (Middle) 1455 VALLEY ROAD 3. Date of Earliest Transaction (Month/Day/Year) 11/17/2009 (Street) WAYNE, NJ 07470- 4. If Amendment, Date Original Filed(Month/Day/Year) 6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing(Check Applicable Line) _X_ Form filed by One Reporting Person ___ Form filed by More than One Reporting Person (City) (State) (Zip) Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned

1.Title of Security (Instr. 3) 2. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year) 2A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year) 3. Transaction Code (Instr. 8) 4. Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed of (D) (Instr. 3, 4 and 5) 5. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s) (Instr. 3 and 4) 6. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4) 7. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4) Code V Amount (A) or (D) Price Common Stock 11/17/2009   A   7,013 (3) A $ 0 125,306 D (1) (2)   Common Stock 11/17/2009   J   48 (1) A $ 0 861 I (1) Ira/wife Common Stock (401k Plan)               3,189 D (4)

Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly.
	Persons who respond to the collection of information contained in this form are not required to respond unless the form displays a currently valid OMB control number.		SEC 1474 (9-02)

Table II - Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned
(e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)

1. Title of Derivative Security (Instr. 3)

2. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security

3. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year)

3A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year)

4. Transaction Code (Instr. 8)

5. Number of Derivative Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed of (D) (Instr. 3, 4, and 5)

6. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date (Month/Day/Year)

7. Title and Amount of Underlying Securities (Instr. 3 and 4)

8. Price of Derivative Security (Instr. 5)

9. Number of Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s) (Instr. 4)

10. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4)

11. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4)

Code

V

(A)

(D)

Date Exercisable

Expiration Date

Title

Amount or Number of Shares

Stock Option/NQ

$ 17.8762

11/27/2002

11/27/2011

Common Stock

12,059

12,059

D

Stock Options

$ 15.1524

11/28/2001

11/28/2010

Common Stock

5,276

5,276

D

Stock Options

$ 17.8762

11/27/2002

11/27/2011

Common Stock

7,290

7,290

D

Stock Options

$ 18.7238

11/18/2003

11/18/2012

Common Stock

11,865

11,865

D

Stock Options

$ 21.8286

11/17/2004

11/17/2013

Common Stock

16,082

16,082

D

Stock Options

$ 21.9143

11/16/2005

11/16/2014

Common Stock

15,316

15,316

D

Stock Options

$ 20.2952

11/14/2006

11/14/2015

Common Stock

17,624

17,624

D

Stock Options

$ 22.2095

11/13/2007

11/13/2016

Common Stock

19,101

19,101

D

Stock Options

$ 16.9619

02/12/2009

02/12/2018

Common Stock

18,192

18,192

D

Reporting Owners

Reporting Owner Name / Address	Relationships
	Director	10% Owner	Officer	Other
ESKOW ALAN D 1455 VALLEY ROAD WAYNE, NJ 07470-			Senior EVP & CFO

Signatures

/s/ ALAN D. ESKOW		11/19/2009
**Signature of Reporting Person		Date

Explanation of Responses:

*	If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 4(b)(v).
**	Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations. See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
(1)	Adjusted for additional shares acquired through Dividend Reinvestment Plan.
(2)	Valley National Bancorp declared a 5% dividend on April 14, 2009, issued on May 22, 2009 to shareholders of record on May 8, 2009.
(3)	Restricted stock granted under the Valley National Bancorp 2009 Long Term Stock Incentive Plan. Under the TARP rules, the restricted stock grants cannot vest for a period of two years following the grant date. If the TARP funds are repaid, the restricted stock may be subject to a three year vesting period.
(4)	Holdings under the Valley 401K Plan has been updated to reflect reporting officer's balance in the Plan.

Note: File three copies of this Form, one of which must be manually signed. If space is insufficient, see Instruction 6 for procedure.

Potential persons who are to respond to the collection of information contained in this form are not required to respond unless the form displays a currently valid OMB number.