A long, three-year legal battle has finally come to an end and Monmouth County residents and upcoming visitors will be thrilled.

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You know that empty area of land at the end of Neptune Avenue in Deal?

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Google Maps; End of Neptune Avenue in Deal
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There was a HUGE lawsuit involving the borough-owned land right near the coast.

I have two major pieces of good news.

According to NJ.com, the first piece of good news is that a man named Isaac Chera has finally been given the green light to buy this plot of land shown above.

Nicole Murray
Google Maps; Different view of end of Neptune Avenue in Deal
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Fun Fact: The plot of land is valued at $160,000 but Isaac is prepared to buy it for that and then some.

Isaac will be coughing up a whopping $1,000,000, "to buy [the land and] to extend his properly line."

He owns the area of land next to this lot so who knows what he has planned: building a new home? Expanding his current one?

The second piece of news is the part Deal residents and upcoming vacationers will care about.

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Back in 2019, the American Littoral Society filed to block the sale of this piece of land from taking place. Their fear was that the public would not have access to the beach if this area of land became privately owned.

It is a fair concern. What rich person wouldn't try to construct their own private beach?

Quick Pause: In case you didn't know, "The American Littoral Society promotes the study and conservation of marine life and habitat, protects the coast from harm, and empowers others to do the same," according to their website.

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Well now a resolution that will make all parties involved happy has been reached.

The sale of land will go through now that Isaac Chera has promised to pay for, build and effectively maintain a staircase leading onto the beach. The borough will design the staircase.

It is good news because now, the public will have access to this beach located at the end of Neptune Avenue in Deal.

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‘It’s a win for everybody,” said Tim Dillingham, executive director of the American Littoral Society according to NJ.com. “Mr. Chera will build the stairs. The borough can sell the property. And the public will have access to the beach.”

If I must say, this "entrance" is in desperate need of a decent staircase.
Look at this photo below: who on earth wants to climb over rocks to get to the beach?
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Google Maps; closer view of Neptune Ave beach entrance in Deal
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That is SO not relaxing and looks kind of dangerous if nothing else.

According to NJ.com, the second part of this agreement states that Isaac cannot, "plant or build [anything] at the end of Neptune Avenue that would obstruct the public view of the ocean."

Again, well warranted.

While we wait for this new staircase to be designed and built, here are some of the other top beach towns that you can hit up for the time being.

LOOK: See America's 50 Best Beach Towns

Every beach town has its share of pluses and minuses, which got us thinking about what makes a beach town the best one to live in. To find out, Stacker consulted data from WalletHub, released June 17, 2020, that compares U.S. beach towns. Ratings are based on six categories: affordability, weather, safety, economy, education and health, and quality of life. The cities ranged in population from 10,000 to 150,000, but they had to have at least one local beach listed on TripAdvisor. Read the full methodology here. From those rankings, we selected the top 50. Readers who live in California and Florida will be unsurprised to learn that many of towns featured here are in one of those two states.

Keep reading to see if your favorite beach town made the cut.

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