A Queens beer garden is drawing intense criticism after hosting a 9/11-themed “disco” event, promoting it with an AI-generated skyline that did not depict Manhattan and donating only 20% of the proceeds to charity.
Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden in Astoria staged its “9/11 Silent Disco for Unity & Support” on Friday, the somber 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people in Manhattan. The event was advertised as an evening of “music, unity and remembrance.”
Residents and social-media users quickly condemned the venue, arguing that the gathering inappropriately blended a national tragedy with a typical bar-night experience.
“Incredibly gross dance event,” Wil Roth wrote in a scathing one-star Google review posted Saturday..
“Don’t pretend this tasteless, insensitive event and response was about anyone but yourselves.”
The headphone-based party was promoted on Instagram with references to “dancing with intention,” alongside a widely mocked AI-generated flyer featuring an incorrect skyline in the background.
As the backlash spread, the Astoria beer garden defended both the event itself and the way it had been advertised.
“Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but we stand firmly behind our team and this post,” the business said in a social-media statement. It added that the flyer had been “designed by a U.S. Army veteran on our staff using AI tools to bring the project together.”
“We could have done a ton of different things today or nothing at all in remembrance of 9/11,’’ Bohemian said. “We however wanted to do something.’’
Rather than calming the controversy, the statement appeared to deepen the anger among some members of the public.
“This cannot be real. They have to be f–king with us,” one frustrated Reddit user wrote in response to the beer garden’s defense.
Another forum user added, “I still can’t believe how gross this poster is and that they doubled down on defending it.’’
Someone else said, “They are being patronizing assholes here, and flexing MILITARY + Al is hilarious.’’
