Mayor Bloomberg came out against New York’s congressional delegation yesterday when he defended Governor Corzine’s involvement in negotiations between developer Larry Silverstein and the Port Authority over plans to redevelop ground zero.

Mr. Bloomberg yesterday told reporters that it was an “outrage” to blame Mr. Corzine for delays at ground zero, and that the criticism was making it hard for Governor Pataki to finalize a deal. Mr. Bloomberg said Mr. Corzine could not be blamed for delays because he did not take office until three months ago, and the mayor defended Mr. Corzine’s responsibility to look out for the interests of New Jersey.

“They have half of the Port Authority, they have half of the responsibility. They get half of the benefits, and in a partnership both sides have to work on projects that are on both sides of the Hudson River,” Mr. Bloomberg said.

Two sources familiar with the negotiations said it would be hard to imagine Mayor Giuliani defending the governor of New Jersey in bi-state negotiations. The sources asked not to be named because they did not want to antagonize the mayor.

Rep. Anthony Weiner, a Democrat of Queens who ran for mayor last year, responded to Mr. Bloomberg’s defense of the New Jersey governor: “The fate of ground zero should first and foremost be the province of New Yorkers. Any agent of delay is unwelcome, but particularly unwelcome is a delay over dollars and cents for New Jersey.”

Last week, New York’s entire 29-member congressional delegation delivered a letter to Mr. Corzine asking him to overlook the “revenue goals” of New Jersey and avoid further delays in rebuilding at the World Trade Center site.

The speaker of the state Assembly, Sheldon Silver, also declined to criticize Mr. Corzine yesterday. He put the blame on Messrs. Bloomberg and Pataki, saying they “have failed to provide the leadership. They’ve focused on a stadium on the West Side of Manhattan.”

The Port Authority, which owns the 16-acre site, is a bi-state agency that controls most of the area’s airports, tunnels, bridges, and ports. As New Jersey governor, Mr. Corzine controls half the board of commissioners of the Port Authority. Last week, the New Jersey delegation of the Port Authority was blamed for killing a deal proposed by Governor Pataki to settle the impasse over ground zero development rights. Construction of the Freedom Tower, which was supposed to begin this month, is now in question.

The deal, which City Hall opposed, would have transferred the responsibility of the Freedom Tower and another tower to the Port Authority from Mr. Silverstein. The developer would have received reductions in the rent he pays to the Port Authority, and he would have had to share some of his insurance proceeds from the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack and to pay for some shared infrastructure costs.

Mr. Bloomberg’s defense of Mr. Corzine is part of what some onlookers call an “odd” political alignment that pits City Hall and the New Jersey delegation of the Port Authority against Mr. Silverstein and the elected official who is known as the most anxious to make a deal, Mr. Pataki. Messrs. Corzine and Bloomberg have a wider political horizon than Mr. Pataki, whose term as governor ends this year. He is expected to run for president in 2008.

The Bloomberg administration and the New Jersey delegation, led by the Port Authority chairman, Anthony Coscia (and recently represented by Mr. Corzine), have been among the biggest critics of the agreement that requires Mr. Silverstein to build about 10 million square feet of office space in four commercial towers at ground zero, and in one tower near the site.

Both Mr. Coscia and the mayor have questioned whether it will be in Mr. Silverstein’s financial interest to complete the plan, and they have advocated that some of the site be returned to the Port Authority for redevelopment as a way to ensure a prompt and complete rebuilding of the site. Last month, the city publicized an analysis that suggests that Mr. Silverstein will run out of money and leave ground zero half built, a point the developer disputes.

The division within the board of the Port Authority has led some to suggest that New Jersey is holding out to get more money for infrastructure projects planned for that state, including another rail tunnel under the Hudson River. Mr. Corzine has said he would like to ensure the financial well-being of the Port Authority and have more money from the deal directed toward building a memorial at ground zero.

At a press conference last week, the mayor said the idea that New Jersey officials were holding back their support of a ground zero deal for a “tunnel” was the work of a “clever p.r.” man.

City officials who asked not to be named suggested yesterday that the recruitment of some of the members of the New York congressional delegation to oppose Mr. Corzine is the idea of a political consultant who works for Mr. Silverstein, Roberto Ramirez. Mr. Ramirez refused to comment yesterday.

Mr. Ramirez, a former Democratic assemblyman of the Bronx, was recently hired by Silverstein Properties to help out with ground zero negotiations.

For Silverstein Properties, the public attention on the New York-New Jersey split may be a welcome relief. Several public officials portrayed Mr. Silverstein as “greedy” when negotiations broke off in mid-March.