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Woman Accused Of Anti-Asian Rant Identified As Daughter Of NY Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan
By
Jake Offenhartz
Published Mar 18, 2021
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By
Jake Offenhartz
Published Mar 18, 2021
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The daughter of the late New York Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan has been accused of telling an Asian American couple to "go back to China" during a bigoted rant in Manhattan last weekend.
Maura Moynihan admitted to WABC-7 News that she was the person seen in a viral video arguing with 31-year-old Dan Lee near Stuytown on Sunday.
Lee said that Moynihan had told his wife — 25-year-old Maria Ha — that she wasn't from here and should "go back to communist China," causing her to fear for her safety amid a spike in anti-Asian hate crimes.
After he confronted Moynihan from outside her cab, she can be heard saying: "Well, isn’t that where you’re from?" She then accuses Lee of "assaulting" her, before offering to pay the cab driver double to leave the scene.
The video prompted speculation on social media that the woman was the 63-year-old daughter of the famed New York Senator. She is a self-described artist and journalist who previously worked as a consultant to the Rubin Museum, and helped advocate for Moynihan Station, the long-planned transit hub named for her father.
In a statement to WABC, Moynihan said the altercation stemmed from a dispute about a cab that had "nothing whatsoever to do with any bias or racism or anti-Asian American prejudice, as has been wrongly suggested."
"I have devoted most of my life to working with and for Asian people, most particularly in the cause of securing basic human rights for the Tibetan people in their continuing struggle against Communist China," she added.
Her activism includes a recent appearance on former Trump advisor Steve Bannon's podcast, and articles in the far-right publication Epoch Times.
A spokesperson for the NYPD confirmed they had received a complaint about the incident, and that an investigation remains ongoing by the NYPD's Hate Crime Task Force.
Inquiries to a number listed for Moynihan were not returned.
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Moynihan Station
Jake Offenhartz
Jake Offenhartz is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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