A "prior nonconforming use" is a use of property that existed before the enactment of a local zoning restriction that prohibits the use. New York law has long made it clear that a prior nonconforming use in existence when a zoning ordinance is adopted generally is constitutionally protected even though the ordinance may explicitly ban the activity that is the subject of the prior nonconforming use. See, e.g., People v. Miller, 304 N.Y. 105 (1952).