Income Per Share (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2013
Income Per Share [Abstract]
Income from continuing operations, net of income attributable to noncontrolling interests	$ 80,936	$ 67,986
Income from discontinued operations, net of income attributable to noncontrolling interests	1,781	194,936
Net income attributable to Vornado	82,717	262,922
Preferred share dividends	(20,368)	(21,702)
Preferred unit and share redemptions	0	(9,230)
Net income attributable to common shareholders	62,349	231,990
Earnings allocated to unvested participating securities	(30)	(56)
Numerator for basic income per share	62,319	231,934
Convertible preferred share dividends	0	28
Numerator for diluted income per share	$ 62,319	$ 231,962
Denominator for basic income per share - weighted average shares	187,307	186,752
Employee stock options and restricted share awards (in shares)	933	727
Convertible preferred shares	0	50
Denominator for diluted income per share - weighted average shares and assumed conversions (in shares)	188,240	187,529
INCOME PER COMMON SHARE - BASIC:
Income from continuing operations, net (in dollars per share)	$ 0.32	$ 0.20
Income from discontinued operations, net (in dollars per share)	$ 0.01	$ 1.04
Net income per common share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.33	$ 1.24
INCOME PER COMMON SHARE - DILUTED:
Income from continuing operations, net (in dollars per share)	$ 0.32	$ 0.20
Income from discontinued operations, net (in dollars per share)	$ 0.01	$ 1.04
Net income per common share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.33	$ 1.24