In Eyüpsultan, the priority is children, women, and the elderly

Eyüpsultan Municipality has opened the Güzeltepe Retirees' Lounge Memory Cafe to support the socialization and active lives of retired citizens. Speaking at the opening, Eyüpsultan Mayor Dr. Mithat Bülent Özmen described the projects they have brought to the district since taking office.

Noting that they have implemented many facilities in Eyüpsultan over the past 18 months, Özmen said, "In these 18 months, we have quietly opened 9 daycare centers. This is no small feat. In a period where we are facing such economic difficulties, opening a child activity center every two months is very valuable.

We quietly opened 4 parks. We renovated 34 of them. We opened a girls' dormitory in Esentepe. We are putting it into service soon. Because we want our girls to study. We do not want our girls to stay away from school saying 'there is no dormitory, there is no home'," he said.

GÜZELTEPE IS A FIRST

Emphasizing that the official opening of the Güzeltepe Retirees' Lounge is a first for them, Dr. Mithat Bülent Özmen drew attention to the social importance of the project:

“A few weeks ago, we actually opened this place so that our neighbors could come, drink tea and coffee, and get used to it. This is the first time we are holding an official opening. And we are doing it in Güzeltepe. Coming together with friends and seeing the reward for the good work you do is a very right thing. I care about this Retirees' Lounge. Because in a period where deep poverty is so prevalent and social facilities and spaces are so scarce, our elderly citizens and retirees need a place to breathe, talk, and socialize. We want all of them to receive service in a modern way, regardless of gender."

Highlighting the importance of service to children, youth, women, and elderly citizens, Özmen stated, "Because one group is our neighbors who have put a lot of effort into us and brought this country to where it is today, and the other group is our children and youth, who are the owners of today and tomorrow. That is why we will pay our debt and fulfill our duty in this way."

PRIORITY IS NEGLECTED NEIGHBORHOODS

Mayor Özmen stated that services are planned entirely through needs analysis rather than political preferences, and gave the good news of new projects:

“We have another area somewhere soon. We will take a certain part of it from the Metropolitan Municipality (İBB). We have done our planning accordingly. We will soon gift another beautiful facility to our neighbors in Güzeltepe. I know our neglected neighborhoods in our district one by one. And I set the priority accordingly. We never do it with a political preference. Our entire preference is to identify what the need is, if there is a neglected situation, and to provide service accordingly.”

NEW CITY RESTAURANT IS ON THE WAY

At the end of his speech, stating that social projects such as the City Restaurant (Kent Lokantası) and the Retirees' Lounge will continue, Özmen concluded his words as follows:

“Also, as you know, we opened a City Restaurant. I go to our City Restaurant from time to time. I have received another promise. We will convince our Metropolitan Municipality and bring a second City Restaurant to our Eyüpsultan at the right time. We will not limit our retirees' lounges to two or three, and we will increase their number within the process in line with the needs of our elderly citizens. May it be auspicious once again.”