Bus shelters, bins, public toilets and possibly newsstands are to be included in the contract, with the plan of creating a uniform look across the city.
According to reports, the company that wins the contract could make $1bn (£624.8m) from selling advertising on the sites.
Viacom currently has the rights, but its contract expires in December this year. It was awarded the job in 1986. JCDecaux and Clear Channel Communications are likely to tender for the work along with Viacom. Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been pushing for an open auction of the city's street advertising, as had his predecessor, Rudolph Giuliani.
Similar auctions in Chicago and Los Angeles have raised $307m and $150m respectively, according to a report in the Financial Times.
Currently, advertising on newsstands is not allowed in New York City, but the council could change the legislation to allow ads.
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