In his first public comments regarding his reasoning for opting to skip a campaign debate at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, Mayor Bloomberg leaned on his former opponent, Democrat Mark Green, as the rationale.

“I thought Mark Green set the standard,” Mr. Bloomberg told reporters yesterday just before marching in the Pulaski Day Parade up Fifth Avenue.

“He thought two debates was appropriate. I don’t remember lots of people in the Democratic Party complaining about only two debates,” the mayor, who is a Republican, said.

In 2001, Mr. Bloomberg, then an underdog candidate running against Mr. Green, lobbied to have four debates and, when Mr. Green opted for two, accused his opponent of denying voters the right to make an informed decision.

Since the mayor’s re-election campaign announced Friday that Mr. Bloomberg would participate in only two debates, the tables have been turned.

His current opponent, Democrat Fernando Ferrer, has blasted him for rejecting the challenge to participate in five debates – one in each borough. Several of the city’s black leaders have characterized the decision to skip Thursday’s debate in Harlem as a slight to the black community, which is seen as a crucial constituency for the November 8 election.

Yesterday, just an hour after the Bloomberg administration announced it was mailing out its $400 property tax rebates to 625,000 New Yorkers, the questions at the mayor’s press availability all related to his decision to forgo the Apollo debate. Mr. Bloomberg used the opportunity to joke that two debates was perfectly suited for Mr. Ferrer, who he said “can get out both sides of every issue that he seems to be on.”

When Mr. Ferrer was told at a campaign stop across town that Mr. Bloomberg cited Mr. Green’s decision four years ago to participate in only two debates, he laughed.

“That’s truly the first time I’ve ever heard, ever heard, Mike Bloomberg aspire to be just like Mark Green,” the Democratic nominee said. “That’s one for the books.”

When asked to respond to Mr. Bloomberg’s characterization of him as a flip-flopper, he lashed out at the mayor.

“You mean Mike Bloomberg, who promised in 2001 not to raise taxes and the Bloomberg in 2003 who did? Or the Bloomberg in 2001 who supported the Cross Harbor Tunnel and the Bloomberg in 2005 who opposed it?” Mr. Ferrer asked. “Give me a break.”

Mr. Ferrer said of his opponent, “He’s been standing up Harlem for three and a half years. Why should now be any different?”

During a telephone interview last night, the Reverend Al Sharpton said while the mayor appeared at a Harlem church yesterday, he should still have to answer questions about issues like unemployment and housing in the black community.

In addition, he said invoking Mr. Green’s position would not curry any favor in the black community.

“I think that is ironic,” Mr. Sharpton said. “He who enjoyed a lot of our anger for Mark Green is now going to preach Mark Green to us? That’s interesting.”

In 2001, when Mr. Green was running against Mr. Ferrer in a Democratic runoff election, his relationship with the black community was damaged when his campaign was accused of circulating fliers in white neighborhoods featuring a cartoon depicting Mr. Ferrer in a compromising position with Rev. Sharpton.

The theory was that the Green campaign was trying to scare white residents into voting because of his opponent’s close relationship with Rev. Sharpton.

Mr. Bloomberg, a billionaire who is self-financing his campaign, is not required to participate in the Campaign Finance Board debates because he is not accepting public money. Mr. Ferrer, who is eligible for matching funds, is.

“I was offered two debates last time. I took them, and I won,” Mr. Bloomberg said. “I think that speaks for itself.”