Income Per Class A Unit (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2013
Income Per Class A Unit [Abstract]
Income from continuing operations, net of income attributable to noncontrolling interests in consolidated subsidiaries	$ 84,686	$ 70,974
Income from discontinued operations, net of income attributable to noncontrolling interests in consolidated subsidiaries	1,891	206,667
Net income attributable to Vornado Realty L.P.	86,577	277,641
Preferred unit distributions	(20,380)	(22,488)
Preferred unit redemptions	0	(9,230)
Net income attributable to Class A unitholders	66,197	245,923
Earnings allocated to unvested participating securities	(899)	(976)
Numerator for basic income per Class A unit	65,298	244,947
Convertible preferred unit distributions	0	28
Numerator for diluted income per Class A unit	$ 65,298	$ 244,975
Denominator for basic income per Class A unit - weighted average units (in units)	197,917	197,361
Vornado stock options and restricted unit awards (in units)	1,437	1,108
Convertible preferred units	0	50
Denominator for diluted income per Class A unit - weighted average units and assumed conversions (in units)	199,354	198,519
INCOME PER CLASS A UNIT - BASIC:
Income from continuing operations, net (in dollars per unit)	$ 0.32	$ 0.19
Income from discontinued operations, net (in dollars per unit)	$ 0.01	$ 1.05
Net income per Class A unit (in dollars per unit)	$ 0.33	$ 1.24
INCOME PER CLASS A UNIT - DILUTED:
Income from continuing operations, net (in dollars per unit)	$ 0.32	$ 0.19
Income from discontinued operations, net (in dollars per unit)	$ 0.01	$ 1.04
Net income per Class A unit (in dollars per unit)	$ 0.33	$ 1.23