Filed by Interchange Financial Services Corporation
                           Pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act of 1933
                                        And deemed filed pursuant to Rule 14a-12
                                          of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

                                            Subject Company: Bridge View Bancorp
                                                   Commission File No. 001-12165


On  November  27,  2002,  the  President  & CEO and  Chairman  of the  Board  of
Interchange   Financial  Services  Corporation  sent  the  following  letter  to
shareholders  of  Interchange   Financial  Services  Corporation  regarding  the
acquisition of Bridge View Bancorp.


Dear Shareholder:

We are happy to announce that  Interchange  Financial  Services  Corporation has
entered  into a  definitive  agreement  to acquire  Bridge  View  Bancorp  whose
principal  subsidiary  is Bridge View Bank of Englewood  Cliffs,  New Jersey,  a
traditional  commercial bank with 11 offices in Bergen County, New Jersey.  This
acquisiton  brings  together,  for a total of 29 branches,  two high  performing
banks which we believe will result in a stronger  competitive  platform that can
deliver  better  products  and  services  than  the  larger  banks  and  provide
opportunities of expansion into adjacent counties.

Upon completion of the Bridge View acquisition, Interchange expects to have $1.3
billion in assets and a deposit  market share  position  within Bergen County of
6th as compared to the current 12th position.

The  transaction  has been approved by the Board of Directors of both  companies
and is expected to be completed by April 2003.  The  transaction  is conditioned
upon receiving necessary bank regulatory approvals, the approval of shareholders
from both companies and other  customary  conditions.  Interchange  shareholders
will be asked to approve the  issuance of  additional  Interchange  shares to be
issued to Bridge View shareholders in the merger. Interchange Financial Services
will file a registration  statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
which will contain the joint proxy statement of Interchange  Financial  Services
and Bridge View Bancorp and the  prospectus of Interchange  Financial  Services.
Shareholders  are urged to read the documents when they become available as they
will contain important information.

As for the terms of the  agreement,  the total  consideration  to be received by
Bridge View  shareholders is fixed at $33,528,472  million in cash and 2,949,719
Interchange shares. This represents consideration valued at approximately 60% in
stock  and 40% in cash.  Based on the  market  price of $18.24  for  Interchange
common  stock prior to the  November  18,  2002  announcement,  the  transaction
represents a total consideration of approximately $87.3 million. The total value
at closing may rise or fall based on the average per share price of  Interchange
stock for a twenty-day period prior to closing. Each Bridge View shareholder may
choose to receive  cash,  stock or a  combination  of cash and stock  subject to
proration if either cash or stock is oversubscribed.

We trust that you will be as enthusiastic as we are concerning this  transaction
which will enable us to become one of the predominant financial  institutions in
northern New Jersey.




This  filing  contains  forward-looking  statements  within  the  meaning of the
Private Securities  Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements include,  but
are not  limited to, (i)  statements  about the  benefits of the merger  between
Interchange  Financial Services  Corporation and Bridge View Bancorp,  including
future financial and operating results,  cost savings,  enhanced  revenues,  and
accretion  to  reported  earnings  that may be realized  from the  merger;  (ii)
statements with respect to  Interchange's  and Bridge View's plans,  objectives,
expectations and intentions and other statements that are not historical  facts;
and (iii) other  statements  identified by words such as "believes",  "expects",
"anticipates",   "estimates",  "intends",  "plans",  "targets",  "projects"  and
similar  expressions.  These  statements are based upon the current  beliefs and
expectations of  Interchange's  and Bridge View's  management and are subject to
significant  risks and  uncertainties.  Actual results may differ from those set
forth in the forward-looking statements.

The  following  factors,  among  others,  could cause  actual  results to differ
materially from the anticipated  results or other expectations  expressed in the
forward-looking  statements: (1) the risk that the businesses of Interchange and
Bridge View will not be integrated  successfully or such integration may be more
difficult,   time-consuming  or  costly  than  expected;  (2)  expected  revenue
synergies and cost savings from the merger may not be fully realized or realized
within the expected time frame;  (3) revenues  following the merger may be lower
than  expected;  (4)  deposit  attrition,  operating  costs,  customer  loss and
business  disruption  following  the  merger,  including,   without  limitation,
difficulties in maintaining  relationships  with employees,  may be greater than
expected;  (5) the ability to obtain governmental approvals of the merger on the
proposed terms and schedule;  (6) the failure of Interchange's and Bridge View's
stockholders to approve the merger;  (7) competitive  pressures among depository
and other financial  institutions may increase  significantly and have an effect
on pricing, spending, third-party relationships and revenue; (8) the strength of
the United States economy in general and the strength of the local  economies in
which the  combined  company  will  conduct  operations  may be  different  than
expected  resulting in, among other things, a deterioration in credit quality or
a reduced  demand for credit,  including  the  resultant  effect on the combined
company's loan portfolio and allowance for loan losses;  (9) changes in the U.S.
and foreign legal and regulatory  framework;  and (10) adverse conditions in the
stock  market,  the public  debt  market and other  capital  markets  (including
changes in interest rate  conditions)  and the impact of such  conditions on the
combined company's capital markets and asset management  activities.  Additional
factors  that could  cause  Interchange's  and Bridge  View's  results to differ
materially from those described in the  forward-looking  statements can be found
in Interchange's and Bridge View's reports (such as Annual Reports on Form 10-K,
Quarterly  Reports on Form 10-Q and Current  Reports on Form 8-K) filed with the
Securities  and Exchange  Commission  and  available at the SEC's  Internet site
(http://www.sec.gov). All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements
concerning the proposed transaction or other matters attributable to Interchange
or Bridge View or any person acting on their behalf are  expressly  qualified in
their entirety by the cautionary  statements above.  Interchange and Bridge View
do not  undertake  any  obligation  to update any  forward-looking  statement to
reflect  circumstances  or events that occur after the date the  forward-looking
statements are made.

The proposed  transaction will be submitted to  Interchange's  and Bridge View's
stockholders for their consideration,  and Interchange and Bridge View will file
a registration statement, a joint proxy  statement/prospectus and other relevant
documents  concerning the proposed  transaction  with the SEC.  Stockholders are
urged   to   read   the    registration    statement   and   the   joint   proxy
statement/prospectus   regarding  the  proposed   transaction  when  it  becomes
available and any other  relevant  documents  filed with the SEC, as well as any
amendments  or  supplements  to  those




documents,  because they will contain important information. You will be able to
obtain a free  copy of the  joint  proxy  statement/prospectus  as well as other
filings  containing  information about Interchange and Bridge View, as the SEC's
Internet    site    (http://www.sec.gov).    Copies   of   the    joint    proxy
statement/prospectus and the SEC fillings that will be incorporated by reference
in the joint proxy statement/prospectus can also be obtained, without charge, by
directing a request to Interchange  Financial  Services  Corporation,  Corporate
Secretary,   Park  80  West,   Plaza  Two,  Saddle  Brook,   New  Jersey  097663
(201-703-2265),  or to Bridge  View  Bancorp,  Corporate  Secretary,  457 Sylvan
Avenue, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey 07632 (201-871-7800).

Interchange  and Bridge  View,  and their  respective  directors  and  executive
officers may be deemed to be  participants  in the  solicitation of proxies from
the  stockholders of Interchange and Bridge View in connections with the merger.
Information about the directors and executive  officers of Interchange and their
ownership of Interchange common stock is set forth in the proxy statement, dated
March 28, 2002, for Interchange's 2002 annual meeting of stockholders,  as filed
with the SEC on a Schedule  14A.  Information  about the directors and executive
officers of Bridge View and their  ownership  of Bridge View common stock is set
forth in the proxy  statement,  dated  April 18,  2002,  for Bridge  View's 2002
annual  meeting  of  stockholders,  as  filed  with the SEC on a  Schedule  14A.
Additional  information  regarding  the interests of those  participants  may be
obtained by reading the joint proxy statement/prospectus  regarding the proposed
transaction when it becomes available.