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One year after Maria hit, Puerto Ricans, devastated by

Protests and politics marked the first anniversary Thursday of Hurricane Maria, the devastating superstorm that ravaged Puerto Rico, killed nearly 3,000 people and left tens of thousands without adequate shelter or reliable access to electrical power.

From San Juan to the South Bronx, displaced Puerto Ricans shared individual stories of despair, and a collective resolve to restore the island to the tropical paradise seen on glossy postcards and alluring travel brochures.

“It’s devastating to see what happened to our beautiful island,” said Bethzaida Toro, 49, who was among a crowd that included Maria evacuees recognizing the storm’s anniversary at St. Bartholomew’s Church on the Upper East Side.

“I wanted to raise my 3-yearold grandson in the paradise I grew up in. But it is gone,” added Toro, who says she lost her 72-year-old uncle, Hector Quiñones, in the storm. “He had Alzheimer’s and he died in a nursing home. He was on oxygen, but there was no electricity and the the generators failed.”

Twelve months and more than $100 billion in damage later, politicians are still bickering over how many people died. Meanwhile, cases of bottled water had yet to reach needy families while many residents still sat in the dark under temporary roofs that have no chance of withstanding even a low -level tropical storm.

Those lucky enough to get off the island and find refuge in places like Brooklyn or the Bronx don’t know where their next resting place will be now that temporary emergency housing funds have expired.

“Our island’s infrastructure remains in tatters, as if the storm happened just weeks ago,” said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. “Supplies that were meant to help our people remain hidden and unused, as if they were simply for-