Bayside Block To Celebrate Co-Naming In Honor Of FDNY Drummer

BAYSIDE, QUEENS – A block in Bayside is set to celebrate its co-naming in honor of a firefighter who helped establish the Fire Department’s band of pipers and drummers.

The James "Big Jim" Corcoran Way Street co-naming event will take place on Saturday between Corbett Road and 217th Street at 10:30 a.m.

“James’s service to the community will never be forgotten and we are so grateful to have this opportunity to honor his work in this way,” Council Member Vickie Paladino told Patch.

Corcoran was one of 16 Charter Members who established the Emerald Society Pipes and Drums Band in the early 1960s.

The first official performance was 60 years ago this month with a little over a dozen members. The group now has about 100 musicians.

The Emerald Society Pipes and Drums Band played the funeral remembering the 343 FDNY members killed in the line of duty on 9/11.

Corcoran was the band's first drum major, and he continued to play after he retired from the FDNY. He passed away in 1995.