Partners' Capital (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended							12 Months Ended			0 Months Ended	12 Months Ended		12 Months Ended		0 Months Ended	12 Months Ended		12 Months Ended		12 Months Ended		12 Months Ended		12 Months Ended		0 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013	Sep. 30, 2013	Jun. 30, 2013	Mar. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2013 Preferred Units [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Preferred Units [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Class A Units Held By Vornado [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Series A Preferred Stock [Member] Convertible Preferred Stock [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Series A Preferred Stock [Member] Convertible Preferred Stock [Member]	Feb. 19, 2013 Series F Preferred Stock [Member] Redeemable Preferred Stock [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Series F Preferred Stock [Member] Redeemable Preferred Stock [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Series F Preferred Stock [Member] Redeemable Preferred Stock [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Series G Preferred Stock [Member] Redeemable Preferred Stock [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Series G Preferred Stock [Member] Redeemable Preferred Stock [Member]	Feb. 19, 2013 Series H Preferred Stock [Member] Redeemable Preferred Stock [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Series H Preferred Stock [Member] Redeemable Preferred Stock [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Series H Preferred Stock [Member] Redeemable Preferred Stock [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Series I Preferred Stock [Member] Redeemable Preferred Stock [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Series I Preferred Stock [Member] Redeemable Preferred Stock [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Series J Preferred Stock [Member] Redeemable Preferred Stock [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Series J Preferred Stock [Member] Redeemable Preferred Stock [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Series K Preferred Stock [Member] Redeemable Preferred Stock [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Series K Preferred Stock [Member] Redeemable Preferred Stock [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Series L Preferred Stock [Member] Redeemable Preferred Stock [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Series L Preferred Stock [Member] Redeemable Preferred Stock [Member]	Jan. 25, 2013 Series L Preferred Stock [Member] Public Offering [Member]	Jan. 25, 2013 Series L Preferred Stock [Member] Public Offering [Member] Redeemable Preferred Stock [Member]
Details Of Preferred Shares Of Beneficial Interest [Abstract]
Redeemable partnership units outstanding, Class A units								187,284,688
General Partners' Capital Account, Units Outstanding (in shares)	52,682,807				51,184,609			11,292,038	32,807	34,609		0	6,000,000	8,000,000	8,000,000		0	4,500,000	10,800,000	10,800,000	9,850,000	9,850,000	12,000,000	12,000,000	12,000,000	0		12,000,000
Partners' Capital Account, Distributions								$ 545,913
Quarterly Common Distributions (unit)	$ 0.73	$ 0.73	$ 0.73	$ 0.73
Per Unit Liquidation Preference (in dollars per share)									$ 50.00			$ 25.00		$ 25.00			$ 25.00		$ 25.00		$ 25.00		$ 25.00		$ 25.00
Preferred Stock Dividend Rate Percentage									6.50%		6.75%	6.75%		6.625%		6.75%	6.75%		6.625%		6.875%		5.70%		5.40%			5.40%
Annual Distribution Rate (in dollars per share)									$ 3.25			$ 1.6875		$ 1.65625			$ 1.6875		$ 1.65625		$ 1.71875		$ 1.425		$ 1.35
General Partners' Capital Account, Units Authorized (in shares)	110,000,000				110,000,000				83,977	83,977		0	6,000,000	8,000,000	8,000,000		0	4,500,000	10,800,000	10,800,000	9,850,000	9,850,000	12,000,000	12,000,000	12,000,000	0
Conversion rate of Class A units per Series A Preferred unit									1.4334
General Partners' Capital Account	8,428,534				8,443,156	1,277,225	1,240,278		1,592	1,682		0	144,720	193,135	193,135		0	108,549	262,379	262,379	238,842	238,842	290,971	290,971	290,306	0
Preferred Stock, Number of Shares, Par Value and Other Disclosures [Abstract]
Sale price, per share (in dollars per share)																												$ 25.00
Preferred Stock Redemption Price Per Share														$ 25.00					$ 25.00		$ 25.00		$ 25.00		$ 25.00			$ 25.00
Preferred Stock, Redemption Amount																262,500
Proceeds from the issuance of preferred shares																											$ 290,306
Preferred Stock, Additional Disclosure [Abstract]
Preferred Stock Issued Additional Disclosure																												Vornado retained aggregate net proceeds of $290,306,000, after underwriters’ discounts and issuance costs and contributed the net proceeds to us in exchange for 12,000,000 Series L Preferred Units (with economic terms that mirror those of the Series L Preferred Shares).