Buttermilk Channel is roughly one mile long and a quarter-mile wide with a depth of 35 to 40 feet. The channel is historically a busy shipping lane, providing easy access to Brooklyn's waterfront.

The development of the Brooklyn side of the channel began in the 1840s. By the early 1900s, extensive dredging and modifications efforts of the channel allowed larger ships to enter the strait.

The origin of this strait's name is largely disputed. Some claim that churn of the choppy water would make it appear milky white. Others say that the currents were so volatile that Dutch farmers ferrying milk from Brooklyn to Manhattan would arrive on shore to find their milk churned to butter!

Walt Whitman claimed that in 1817 the surface of the channel froze over as temperatures dropped to a frigid -26 degrees celsius. Supposedly, the ice was so thick that Cattle walked over the body of water to graze on the tall grass of Governors Island.

The channel is still used by commercial boats and cruise ships, however, the hustle and bustle of the area has slowed since the 1950s when most of Brooklyn's shipped departed for New Jersey. In 2014, artist Nancy Nowacek proposed a temporary floating bridge that would connect Red Hook and Governor's Island by crossing the channel. The project was never realized, but perhaps one day we too can walk across the Buttermilk Channel... though it may not be 'til the cows come home.