Late Steely Dan co-founder Walter Becker was honored with a street-naming ceremony in New York City on October 28.
Live For Live Music reports the hour-long festivities – hosted by Jim Kerr of New York’s Classic Rock Q104.3 – began with opening remarks by New York City Council Member Karen Koslowitz of the 29th District, who proposed the street renaming, and was followed by a keynote address by screenwriter and longtime Becker friend Howard A. Rodman.
Streamed live on Facebook by the radio station (see video below), the noon-time event in the Forest Hills section of Queens saw the official unveiling of “Walter Becker Way” at the corner of 112th Street and 72nd Drive in a tribute to the late rocker, who passed away last fall from esophageal cancer at the age of 67.
The New York City Council customarily uses street co-naming to honor New York-based activists, cultural heroes, and community leaders whose contributions continue to reverberate in the city and beyond.
Becker’s bandmate Donald Fagen continues to perform under the Steely Dan banner; the lineup just wrapped up a residency at New York’s Beacon Theatre that mixed full album presentations with greatest hits evenings.
Steely Dan will begin 2019 with a brief tour of the UK and Ireland in February.
See also:
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