Document and Entity Information	3 Months Ended
	Apr. 30, 2012	May 31, 2012 Common Stock Class A	May 31, 2012 Common Stock Class B
Entity Registrant Name	FOREST CITY ENTERPRISES INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000038067
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Apr. 30, 2012
Amendment Flag	false
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2013
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--01-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		150,848,084	20,899,371