Income Per Class A Unit (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Sep. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2015	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Sep. 30, 2014	Jun. 30, 2014	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Income Per Class A Unit [Abstract]
Income (loss) from continuing operations, net of income attributable to noncontrolling interests									$ 751,403	$ 326,789	$ (67,307)
Income from discontinued operations, net of income attributable to noncontrolling interests									52,262	585,676	568,095
Net income attributable to Vornado Realty L.P.									803,665	912,465	500,788
Preferred unit distributions									(80,736)	(81,514)	(83,965)
Preferred unit redemptions									0	0	(1,130)
Net income Attributable to Class A unitholders	$ 245,735	$ 211,526	$ 175,800	$ 89,868	$ 544,287	$ 139,134	$ 81,333	$ 66,197	722,929	830,951	415,693
Earnings allocated to unvested participating securities									(4,092)	(4,260)	(2,705)
Numerator for basic income per Class A unit									718,837	826,691	412,988
Convertible preferred unit distributions									92	97	0
Numerator for diluted income per Class A unit									$ 718,929	$ 826,788	$ 412,988
Denominator for basic income per Class A unit - weighted average units (in units)									199,309	198,213	197,551
Vornado stock options and restricted unit awards									1,804	1,557	1,092
Convertible preferred units (in units)									45	43	0
Denominator for diluted income per Class A unit - weighted average units and assumed conversions (in units)									201,158	199,813	198,643
INCOME (LOSS) PER CLASS A UNIT - BASIC:
Income (loss) from continuing operations, net (in dollars per unit)									$ 3.35	$ 1.22	$ (0.79)
Income from discontinued operations, net (in dollars per unit)									0.26	2.95	2.88
Net income per Class A unit (in dollars per unit)	$ 1.22	$ 1.05	$ 0.88	$ 0.45	$ 2.73	$ 0.70	$ 0.41	$ 0.33	3.61	4.17	2.09
INCOME (LOSS) PER CLASS A UNIT - DILUTED:
Income (loss) from continuing operations, net (in dollars per unit)									3.31	1.21	(0.78)
Income from discontinued operations, net (in dollars per unit)									0.26	2.93	2.86
Net income per Class A unit (in dollars per unit)	$ 1.21	$ 1.05	$ 0.87	$ 0.44	$ 2.71	$ 0.69	$ 0.40	$ 0.33	$ 3.57	$ 4.14	$ 2.08