Unattended Death and Biohazard Cleanup in Bradley Beach, NJ

Bradley Beach is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, at the Jersey Shore, whose motto is 'New Jersey's Family Resort.'

Bradley Beach was named for James A. Bradley, the developer responsible for the creation of both Bradley Beach and Asbury Park.

In 1871, William B. Bradner, with James A. Bradley as an investor, acquired 54 acres of land north of Avon-by-the-Sea and south of Ocean Grove, in an area then known informally as Ocean Park.

Bradley Beach was incorporated on March 13, 1893, based on the results of a referendum held on March 6, 1893, in which citizens voted to separate from Neptune Township; the borough's incorporation was confirmed on March 13, 1925.

Bradley Beach was the first place in the United States to charge sea bathers for beach access, when it began minting its own tin badges starting in 1929.

The 2020 census counted 4,282 year-round residents in Bradley Beach, living in 2,157 households, but the borough's summer population can reach 30,000.

The borough covers a total area of only 0.63 square miles, and with a density of about 7,000 people per square mile it is the fifth-densest municipality in Monmouth County.

In the mid-20th century, Bradley Beach became known as 'Chinatown by the Sea,' in reference to the significant number of ethnic Chinese vacationers from Manhattan's Chinatown who summered there; a portion of that community was formally recognized in 2023.

In 1929, Bradley Beach hosted an international chess tournament at the Hotel La Reine, which was won by Alexander Alekhine, the reigning world chess champion, with a score of 8.5 out of 9.

Sand dunes constructed on Bradley Beach's beaches in 2000, built from snow fences and discarded Christmas trees and planted with dune grass, rose 15 feet, but Hurricane Sandy still caused more than $3 million in damage in the borough in October 2012.