Income Per Class A Unit (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2013	Mar. 31, 2012
Income Per Class A Unit [Abstract]
Income from continuing operations	$ 81,866	$ 208,892
Income from discontinued operations	207,061	71,372
Net income	288,927	280,264
Less net income attributable to noncontrolling interests in consolidated subsidiaries	(11,286)	(9,597)
Net income attributable to Vornado Realty L.P.	277,641	270,667
Preferred unit distributions	(22,488)	(21,661)
Preferred unit redemptions	(9,230)	0
Net income attributable to Class A unitholders	245,923	249,006
Earnings allocated to unvested participating securities	(976)	(1,078)
Numerator for basic income per Class A unit	244,947	247,928
Interest on 3.88% exchangeable senior debentures	0	6,626
Convertible preferred unit distributions	28	29
Numerator for diluted income per Class A unit	$ 244,975	$ 254,583
Denominator for basic income per Class A unit - weighted average units	197,361	196,864
3.88% Exchangeable Senior Debentures	0	5,736
Vornado stock options and restricted unit awards (in shares)	1,108	1,151
Convertible preferred units	50	50
Denominator for diluted income per Class A unit - weighted average units and assumed conversions	198,519	203,801
INCOME PER CLASS A UNIT - BASIC:
Income from continuing operations (in dollars per unit)	0.19	0.90
Income from discontinued operations (in dollars per unit)	1.05	0.36
Net income per Class A unit (in dollars per unit)	1.24	1.26
INCOME PER CLASS A UNIT - DILUTED:
Income from continuing operations (in dollars per unit)	0.19	0.90
Income from discontinued operations (in dollars per unit)	1.04	0.35
Net income per Class A unit (in dollars per unit)	1.23	1.25