New York, NY —

Mayor Bloomberg is South of the Border, studying the finer points of an anti-poverty program in Toluca and Mexico City that he plans to launch here in the fall.

REPORTER: Mexico's program of offering poor families cash for meeting certain goals serves 25 million people. The mayor says that even though the poor in New York City and Mexico are different, he says the city would lose more by not giving the plan a try.

BLOOMBERG: “It may not work which is why we’re trying it for 2 years. But shame on us if we don’t try things.”

REPORTER: The city plans to select 5,000 families this summer to participate in the program.