The Empire State Plaza was taken by “Quick Take”, which in 1962 was a relatively new form of Eminent Domain that had been the books for less then a decade in New York for urban redevelopment and highway construction.

In “Quick Take”, the state, local government, or public corporation can seize private property by simply filing an instrument in the county clerk’s office, condemning private property for public purposes. At this point, all that has be filed is a list of property owners whose properties have been condemned.

At that point, the property becomes publicly-owned, even though no money has been exchanged. Fair market value compensation, as required by the constitution, comes after the property has been taken by the government. The property owner can litigate the fair market value compensation in court, however they can generally not fight the condemnation.

Traditional eminent domain works different. The government offers to buy out the property owner with cash up front to buy their property. If the property owner refuses, the government files an eminent domain proceeding in court, where the property owner can be compelled to hand over the property after fair market-value compensation.

“Quick Take” was invented by the Pennsylvania legislature in 1940s to assist the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission in expediting construction of Pennsylvania Turnpike. After the courts upheld it, this authority was expanded to states via federal laws including the Instate Highway Act and the Urban Redevelopment Act.