Income Per Class A Unit (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012
Income Per Class A Unit [Abstract]
Income from continuing operations, net of income attributable to noncontrolling interests in consolidated subsidiaries	$ 92,627	$ 99,007	$ 266,235	$ 324,231
Income from discontinued operations, net of income attributable to noncontrolling interests in consolidated subsidiaries	15,791	158,539	287,215	247,489
Net income attributable to Vornado Realty L.P.	108,418	257,546	553,450	571,720
Preferred unit distributions	(20,381)	(22,016)	(63,585)	(65,337)
Preferred unit redemptions	0	11,700	(1,130)	11,700
Net Income attributable to Class A unitholders	88,037	247,230	488,735	518,083
Earnings allocated to unvested participating securities	(699)	(1,008)	(2,203)	(2,302)
Numerator for basic income per Class A unit	87,338	246,222	486,532	515,781
Convertible preferred unit distributions	0	28	82	85
Numerator for diluted income per Class A unit	$ 87,338	$ 246,250	$ 486,614	$ 515,866
Denominator for basic income per Class A unit - weighted average units (in units)	197,599	197,155	197,510	197,050
Vornado stock options and restricted unit awards (in shares)	1,118	1,046	1,049	1,028
Convertible preferred units	0	50	48	50
Denominator for diluted income per Class A unit - weighted average units and assumed conversions (in units)	198,717	198,251	198,607	198,128
INCOME PER CLASS A UNIT - BASIC:
Income from continuing operations, net (in dollars per unit)	0.36	0.45	1.01	1.36
Income from discontinued operations, net (in dollars per unit)	0.08	0.80	1.45	1.26
Net income per Class A unit (in dollars per unit)	0.44	1.25	2.46	2.62
INCOME PER CLASS A UNIT - DILUTED:
Income from continuing operations, net (in dollars per unit)	0.36	0.44	1.00	1.35
Income from discontinued operations, net (in dollars per unit)	0.08	0.80	1.45	1.25
Net income per Class A unit (in dollars per unit)	0.44	1.24	2.45	2.60