Wading into yet another contentious national debate, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg came out vigorously yesterday in support of the government's right to seize property by eminent domain, and said Congressional attempts to limit those powers would have dire consequences for the nation's cities.

His remarks come in the wake of a 2005 Supreme Court decision establishing the right of localities to seize properties for economic development projects. That ruling set off a firestorm that has spread across the country and in New York, where the potential use of eminent domain has drawn opposition in such projects as the proposed Atlantic Yards complex in Brooklyn.

"You would never build any big thing any place in any big city in this country if you didn't have the power of eminent domain," Mr. Bloomberg said, speaking at a ground-breaking ceremony in Times Square, which was redeveloped in part through government condemnation of private property. "You wouldn't have a job, neither would anybody else standing here today. None of us would."

Of late, Mr. Bloomberg has ramped up efforts to influence a range of national policy issues including immigration and gun control. But on this issue he is taking a position that could be at odds with the feelings of New Yorkers wary of development or suspicious of government efforts to seize private property.