NEWS RELEASE


Contact:  Paul S. Feeley                                For Release: Immediately
          Senior Vice President, Treasurer &
          Chief Financial Officer
          (617) 628-4000



                         CENTRAL BANCORP, INC. DECLARES
                       ITS REGULAR QUARTERLY CASH DIVIDEND

         SOMERVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS, October 16, 2008 - Central Bancorp, Inc.
(NASDAQ Global MarketSM:CEBK) announced that its Board of Directors declared its
regular quarterly cash dividend of eighteen ($0.18) cents per share, payable on
November 21, 2008, to stockholders of record as of November 7, 2008.

         Central Bancorp, Inc. is the holding company for Central Bank, whose
legal name is Central Co-operative Bank, a Massachusetts-chartered co-operative
bank operating nine full-service banking offices, a limited service high school
branch in suburban Boston and a standalone 24-hour automated teller machine in
Somerville.