The Democrats’ biggest star, President Clinton, campaigned with their party’s mayoral nominee, Fernando Ferrer, yesterday on a revitalized block of split-level homes in the Bronx that the two also visited together eight years ago.

Mr. Clinton’s entry into the mayoral campaign has been highly anticipated by the Ferrer camp, which has been struggling to raise money and gain traction against Mayor Bloomberg’s soaring poll numbers.

The carefully orchestrated event was something of a publicity flop. About 30 minutes before the two arrived, an order went out that a small stage that had been set up so the men could be seen from the back of the crowd be dismantled and that the sound system be cut.

It was unclear whether the order came from the Secret Service, but there was speculation among some members of the crowd that the former president was not interested in widely broadcasting his support for the opponent of a mayor who is popular among many Democrats.

A spokesman for Mr. Clinton, Jay Carson, denied that the former president wanted to tamp down his endorsement. He said the event was intended as a “retail” event so that the men could interact with the residents of the neighborhood.

A spokeswoman for Mr. Ferrer, Jen Bluestein, said it was “never planned to have amplification” at the event.

Mr. Clinton, who spoke in the center of Charlotte Street surrounded by a horseshoe-shaped crowd of about 200 people, credited Mr. Ferrer with helping to revitalize the once-blighted block and for leading the way in the transformation of a burned-out borough while he was president of the Bronx.

In 1994, the South Bronx was one of the few areas in the nation to be designated an “empowerment zone” and to get a cash infusion from the federal government. The visit Mr. Clinton paid to Charlotte Street with Mr. Ferrer three years later was meant to show how much the area had improved.

Mr. Bloomberg’s campaign has accused Mr. Ferrer of taking credit for a housing program that he did not advance. Yesterday, a Bloomberg campaign spokesman, Stuart Loeser, said the revitalization of Charlotte Street started before Mr. Ferrer took office. Additionally, he said, Mr. Ferrer fought Mr. Clinton in an effort to get a larger slice of the Bronx included in the “empowerment zone,” which put the project in jeopardy.

After making his way through the crowd, and lunging in to shake hands with supporters, Mr. Clinton said he recalled 1991, when Mr. Ferrer, then president of the Bronx, endorsed him in his bid for president. He said, “Only my mother and my wife thought I could be elected president. “I’m glad to be here to return the favor today,” Mr. Clinton said, adding that the city still faces “significant” challenges.

“I’m here today … because if you look at all of the success that this city has had, there are still significant housing challenges and there are still people who have been left behind in the search for economic opportunity,” he said.

“I believe Freddy Ferrer is committed to meeting those challenges for the future of all the children of New York without regard for their race, their religion, their income, which borough they live in,” Mr. Clinton said.

“I know that he can deliver because we worked together for eight long years and I saw the progress made here on these street through his leadership,” he said. “I was glad to be his partner then, and I’m honored to be here with him today.”

Mr. Ferrer called the president a “very good friend to the Bronx and New York” and painted himself as Mr. Clinton’s partner.

“We worked together and rolled up our sleeves to bring investment and housing and good jobs and strength for small business to every corner of this borough,” Mr. Ferrer said.

A spokeswoman for Mr. Ferrer, Christy Setzer, said in a statement: “Has Mike Bloomberg sunk so low, are his attacks so desperate, that he’s questioning the word of President Clinton? Freddy Ferrer and Bill Clinton stood side-by-side in 1997 as the President hailed the stunning Bronx turn-around under Freddy’s watch.”