March 21, 2005

Board of Directors
Red Oak Bank
190 Park Avenue
Morristown, NJ 07960

Members of the Board of Directors:

      We  hereby  consent  to the  use of  our  firm's  name  in  the  Form  S-4
Proxy/Prospectus for Red Oak Bank and Center Bancorp,  Inc. respectively and any
amendments  thereto.  We also hereby consent to the inclusion of, summary of and
references to our opinion in such filings including the  proxy/prospectus of Red
Oak Bank and Center Bancorp, Inc. respectively.

Sincerely,

/s/ The Kafafian Group, Inc.
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The Kafafian Group, Inc.
Jeffrey P. Marsico
Senior Vice President