The state attorney general, Eliot Spitzer, picked up several endorsements from key Manhattan Democrats yesterday in his race for governor even as he fended off an angry verbal attack by a heckler at an Upper West Side synagogue.

Mr. Spitzer, the front-runner for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, accepted endorsements from Reps. Carolyn Maloney and Jerrold Nadler, both Democrats of Manhattan, as well as the president of Manhattan, Scott Stringer.

The heckler, Sander Hicks, a Green Party candidate for Senate, interrupted Mr. Spitzer’s remarks for several minutes, demanding to know why the attorney general has not opened an independent investigation into the events of September 11, 2001.

Mr. Hicks, a Brooklyn coffee shop owner and former punk rocker, has published a book that challenges the official interpretation of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and argues that the Bush administration had considerable foreknowledge of the events.

Over the pleas of several audience members, Mr. Hicks declared his right to freedom of speech and said he would not leave until Mr. Spitzer answered.

Mr. Spitzer asked Mr. Hicks to respect the rights of the audience members, and asked him to call his office today.

An Upper West Side resident who witnessed the incident, Marian Schuman, suspected foul play by Mr. Spitzer’s opponents. “They are bringing someone in to see if they can bring a mean streak out of Spitzer, but he kept his cool,” Ms. Schuman said.