Olivia Fisher The Jersey Shore has been a popular vacation spot for millions over the last 150 years. Bradley Beach is well known for being the first place to issue beach badges in the world, but many are unfamiliar with the shore’s popularity as a vacation spot amongst Manhattan’s Chinatown. Starting in 1923, Chinese families began venturing down the shore, leaving a legacy that is still remembered a century later. This Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, read on to learn about Chinatown-by-the-Sea and the Chinese community in Bradley Beach.
Bradley Beach, the Beginning Years
Bradley Beach was developed by James A. Bradley, its namesake. In 1871, he acquired 54 acres of land, and the area was informally known as Ocean Park. In 1893, residents appealed to the state legislature and incorporated their community as Bradley Beach. In 1929, Bradley Beach became the first place in the United States to charge people for beach access.
Chinatown-by-the-Sea
Starting in 1923, Bradley Beach became a popular destination for Chinese families from Manhattan’s Chinatown, drawn by a collaboration between the Church of All Nations and the nonprofit Fresh Air Fund. These two organizations sought to provide those in Manhattan with an escape from the cramped streets of the city, allowing them to explore and enjoy the outdoors at the Jersey Shore. Each summer, the church sent ethnic communities, including Italians, Poles, Slovaks, Armenians, Japanese, and Chinese, for two to three weeks each to Cliff Villa, a home located at 110 Cliff Avenue in Bradley Beach and owned by the Church of All Nations.
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Summers at Bradley Beach offered a world apart from the tenements of Chinatown. Chinese and Chinese-Americans made the journey to escape the tight quarters of apartment living. Staying in a house, swimming in the ocean, and enjoying the open space to ride bicycles was something new. The men typically dropped the women and children off for the summer, then returned to their jobs in the city, commuting on Mondays after the Sunday rush in Chinatown had ended. The women would sew and play mahjong, while the men played cards, fished, or headed to nearby Asbury Park Casino. The children would eat pizza and ice cream at Virgil’s on Newark Avenue, fish at Fletcher Lake, or make their way to Asbury Park for arcade games and carnival rides.
In 1943, Lee Ng Shee purchased a home in Bradley Beach at 104 Newark Avenue for $2,000, becoming the first Chinese homeowner in Bradley Beach. Her husband, Lee B. Lok, owned a general store called Quong Yuen Shing & Co. on Mott Street in Manhattan’s Chinatown. Four of the couple’s six children went on to purchase homes on Newark Avenue, strengthening the family’s deep roots in the community. After Lee and Lee made their way to the Jersey Shore, more Chinese families became property owners in Bradley Beach, rather than just tourists. Today, their grandson, John Mok, is a permanent resident on the same street as his grandparents, spending his time year-round down the shore.
Cliff Villa, where the story began, burned down in 1965. Church of All Nations, which made the summer vacations possible in the first place, was demolished in 2005, but the Chinese community maintained its connection to Bradley Beach and kept the story alive.
Modern Times
On August 26, 2023, the Bradley Beach Historical Society, in collaboration with the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) and the Mei Hua Society, hosted a Chinatown-by-the-Sea reunion. A century after the first visit, generations of families reunited in the shore town that brought so many memories. The event drew about 200 people, and a few families of the original homeowners, like John, still frequent Bradley Beach during the summer. Attendees shared memories and old photos, reminiscing about times past.
Bradley Beach Mayor Larry Fox proclaimed in honor of the Chinese community’s impact on Bradley Beach. “Now, therefore be it here proclaimed, that the Mayor and Council of Bradley Beach do recognize as part of the 130th anniversary of the Borough’s founding, the designation of “Chinatown by the Sea” to encompass Newark Avenue, Cliff Avenue, and neighboring streets that generations of Chinese Americans have called home,” part of the statement reads.
Author Ava Chin, author of Mott Street: A Chinese American Family’s Story of Exclusion and Homecoming, described to NBC News why the summers in Bradley Beach were so meaningful to the Chinese American community at the time. “The Jersey Shore really offered Chinese Americans this opportunity to have a summer that was this incredible American experience. For some of them, it was the first time that they ate American food,” she said.
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