Potters field, also known as Hart Island Cemetery is the cite of New York City's Public Cemetery. Over 1 million deceased individuals have been buried on the island, most of whom are in a number of mass grave burial trenches. Many of those buried here were poor or unclaimed deceased members of the New York City area at large. Until 2021, Hart Island was restricted to visitors, including family members of the deceased as it was operated by the department of Corrections. Burials were conducted by incarcerated persons of the New York prison system. In 2021 a city wide initiative that was the culmination of a decades long battle for family members and friends of the deceased was put into place and Hart Island was officially transferred to the New York City parks department. For visitation information (which is free and open to those who have some form of a connection to a deceased person within the cemetery) see the Hart Island website.