The doctrine of prior public use prevents a taking.

The doctrine of prior public use prevents a taking in Matter of City of NY  v Yonkers Indus. Dev. Agency, __AD3d__, 2019 NY Slip Op 02087 [2019].

The City of Yonkers sought to acquire property located in Yonkers that was owned by the City of New York and used by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority as a bus depot. The City of Yonkers sought to return the underutilized parcel to productive use in connection with an urban renewal plan. The Appellate Division, Second Department held the taking of the subject parcel in furtherance of urban renewal and to increase the economic viability and tax base of the City of Yonkers are legitimate public purposes sufficient to support the proposed condemnation. But it rejected the determination to condemn because the proposed use would interfere with the property’s existing public use as a bus depot.