Item 5.02. Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors;
Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.

On December 14, 2012, the Compensation Committee (the "Compensation Committee") of the Board of Directors of New York Mortgage Trust, Inc. (the "Company") approved the payment of a portion of the cash incentive bonuses for fiscal year 2012 to each of Steven R. Mumma, the Company's Chief Executive Officer and President, and Nathan R. Reese, the Company's Vice President and Secretary, which will be paid in December 2012. The discretionary partial bonuses approved by the Compensation Committee, pursuant to which Mr. Mumma received $300,000 and Mr. Reese received $81,250, were granted in recognition of these officers' service and performance in 2012 after an initial review of the Company's performance and projected financial results for the 2012 fiscal year. The Compensation Committee is expected to determine during the first quarter of 2013 the balance of any additional discretionary cash incentive bonus that may be payable to these officers upon completion of the final 2012 performance review. The Compensation Committee further approved a base salary of $425,000 for Mr. Mumma for 2013 and a base salary of $240,000 for Mr. Reese for 2013.

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