N.Y. Second Class Cities Law § 124
The common council shall, by general ordinance, prescribe, approve and adopt the materials to be used in paving, repaving, repairing, surfacing or resurfacing the streets and public places of the city, and fix the standard of excellence and test required for each such material. The city engineer shall prepare standard specifications, in accordance with such ordinance, for the performance of the work involved in such improvements with each kind of materials so prescribed, approved and adopted therefor. Whenever the common council shall determine to make any such improvement, and the proceedings provided by law as preliminary thereto shall have been taken, the board of contract and supply shall advertise for proposals for the furnishing of the materials and the performance of the work involved in such improvements, and specifications shall be prepared and proposals shall be invited, pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, for the construction of such improvement with each kind of paving material so prescribed, approved and adopted by the common council. In case the expense of any such improvement is to be assessed upon the property abutting upon the street, or part thereof, to be improved and more than one kind of material is prescribed, approved or adopted therefor, the secretary of the board shall, within one week after proposals for such work have been received and opened, cause to be published in a daily official paper for four successive days, exclusive of Sunday, a notice containing a summary statement of all such proposals. A majority of said property owners, owning not less than one-third of the feet front of property abutting on such street, exclusive of city property, may present to the board of contract and supply a petition or other writing designating the general kind of pavement or material to be used in making said improvement. If no part of the expense of such improvement is to be assessed upon the property abutting upon said street, or if such expense is to be so assessed, but the property owners shall not have made a designation or shall have made more than one designation, as herein provided, the common council shall, not later than at its next regular meeting after the expiration of ten days from the service of such notice, designate the kind of pavement or material to be used in making such improvement, and the contract for such improvement shall be awarded for the kind of pavement or material so designated by the property owners or common council as aforesaid, and to the lowest bidder for doing the work with the kind of pavement or material so designated. In case, however, two-thirds of the owners of property, owning at least three-fifths of the linear feet fronting upon said street, or part thereof, shall designate a particular make, style or brand of the kind of pavement or material to be used in making such improvement, the contract therefor shall be awarded to the lowest bidder for such make, style or brand of such kind of pavement or material, although the same is not the lowest bid for such kind of pavement or material so designated. Where a street surface railroad shall be laid in any street which it is determined to improve as herein provided, the proposals and contract for such improvement shall include the improvement of the space between the tracks of such street surface railroad, the rails of such tracks and two feet in width outside of such tracks, and the work of improvement in such space shall be done at the same time and under the same supervision as the work of improvement of the remainder of such street. After opportunity to be heard has been given to the company owning or operating such street surface railroad, the board of contract and supply may prescribe the materials to be used in improving such street within the railroad space above described. The entire expense of the improvement within such railroad space shall be assessed and levied upon the property of the company owning or operating such railroad and shall be collected in the same manner as other expenses for local improvements are assessed, levied and collected in the city; and an action may also be maintained by the city against the company in any court of record for the collection of such expense and assessment.
N.Y. Second Class Cities Law § 124