WASHINGTON — Sen. Chuck Schumer yesterday put himself on the front line of Democrats’ fight to pass Wall Street reforms, bucking criticism back home in New York that the new rules threaten the city’s largest industry.

“Everyone agrees the regulatory structure is broken,” Schumer said at a Capitol press conference, joining other top Senate Democrats in touting the regulatory crackdown and bashing Republicans for raising the specter of more taxpayer bailouts.

“One thing is certain: If we don’t reform financial services, the same recession that we have been living through will come back again and again and again,” he said.

Schumer has weathered blistering criticism, first reported by The Post, from Wall Street titans and political insiders who said they believe he is forsaking the financial industry to curry favor with Democrats and advance his quest to become Senate majority leader.

The job could open if Majority Leader Harry Reid loses his seat in November.

Critics also say Schumer, a longtime champion of Wall Street, has become a lapdog for President Obama, who has made financial reform the next big fight of his domestic agenda.