You’re Telling Me That You Can Make It On Your Own By Yourself All Alone Without My Help, Mister You Just Made A Big Mistake

Is that “well oiled” as in “snake” or “well oiled” as in “grease the system”? Either way, a Freudian slip:

At times, he slouched in his chair, crossing his arms, then uncrossing them. His eyes darted around the room, sometimes settling on the clock. He fidgeted.

The body language was not difficult to read: Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg was uncomfortable.

“To hell with your agenda,” thundered David Tieu, a 21-year-old deliveryman from Brooklyn, as the mayor sat about 15 feet away, staring at him.

Patrice Senior, a nurse from Brooklyn, accused Mr. Bloomberg of “plantation politics.” And Patti Hagan, a writer, assailed his “strong-armed knuckle-busting” tactics.

Custom at City Hall has long allowed anyone to appear at a bill signing and offer an opinion on the legislation being enacted. Most such ceremonies are sleepy affairs that attract a handful of political gadflies.

But on Monday, this tidy ritual was turned on its head. For four uninterrupted hours, scores of New Yorkers walked up to a microphone, looked at Mr. Bloomberg and rendered a blunt verdict on the legislation that would allow him to seek a third term.

It was a singular moment in the Bloomberg era of government. For much of his tenure, the mayor has been showered with accolades and surrounded by friendly crowds that have treated him like a head of state.

But during the bill signing, a man unaccustomed to direct, public criticism endured a heavy — and very harsh — dose of it from those he governs.

Dozens of speakers accused the mayor of arrogantly disregarding the will of New York voters, who overwhelmingly endorsed the current eight-year term limits in two referendums in the 1990s.

There were many voices of support, too — from average New Yorkers, elected officials and union heads — and Mr. Bloomberg appeared relieved when they spoke of his proven leadership and financial résumé.

“You have everything well oiled, and I would like you to sign this so the people of New York City have a choice to keep you in office,” said Jill Whitaker, a personal assistant in Manhattan.

. . .

When the testimony was over, around 2 p.m., it was Mr. Bloomberg’s turn to speak. Still sitting behind the table, with the room half empty, he said that “I thought long and hard” about the issue. After long opposing any attempt to tweak term limits — he once called the idea “disgraceful” — the mayor said he had decided to reverse himself.

“You know that I have, over a period of time, fundamentally changed my opinion in terms of how long somebody could be in office,” Mr. Bloomberg said.

“Nobody is irreplaceable,” he said. “But I do think that if you take a look at the real world, at how long it takes to do things,” he added, and finished the thought, “I do think that three terms makes more sense than two.”

With that, the left-handed Mr. Bloomberg picked up a black and gold pen and, with a flick of his wrist, rewrote New York City’s term limits law.