Description of Business and Organization (Details)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2020 ft² parcel office_and_property
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Line Items]
Area of real estate property (in square feet)	10,100,000
Office Building
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Line Items]
Area of real estate property (in square feet)	9,400,000
Number of properties | office_and_property	14
Office Building | Manhattan
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Line Items]
Area of real estate property (in square feet)	7,600,000
Number of properties | office_and_property	9
Office Building | Fairfield County, Connecticut and Westchester County, New York
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Line Items]
Area of real estate property (in square feet)	1,800,000
Number of properties | office_and_property	5
Long-term ground leasehold interests
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Line Items]
Number of properties | parcel	3
Retail Site | Manhattan and Westport, Connecticut
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Line Items]
Area of real estate property (in square feet)	205,488
Retail Site | Manhattan
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Line Items]
Area of real estate property (in square feet)	509,244
Number of properties | office_and_property	4
Retail Site | Westport, Connecticut
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Line Items]
Number of properties | office_and_property	2
Other Property | Stamford, Connecticut
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Line Items]
Area of real estate property (in square feet)	415,000
Empire State Realty Trust | Empire State Realty OP
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Line Items]
OP units owned by the Company (as a percent)	59.50%