Income Per Share (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2015	Mar. 31, 2014
Income Per Share [Abstract]
Income from continuing operations, net of income attributable to noncontrolling interests	$ 89,166	$ 74,743
Income from discontinued operations, net of income attributable to noncontrolling interests	14,911	7,974
Net income attributable to Vornado	104,077us-gaap_NetIncomeLoss	82,717us-gaap_NetIncomeLoss
Preferred share dividends	(19,484)	(20,368)
Net income attributable to common shareholders	84,593	62,349
Earnings allocated to unvested participating securities	(19)	(30)
Numerator for diluted income per share	$ 84,574	$ 62,319
Denominator for basic income per share - weighted average shares (in shares)	187,999	187,307
Employee stock options and restricted share awards (in shares)	1,337	933
Denominator for diluted income per share - weighted average shares and assumed conversions (in shares)	189,336	188,240
INCOME PER COMMON SHARE - BASIC:
Income from continuing operations, net (in dollars per share)	$ 0.37	$ 0.29
Income from discontinued operations, net (in dollars per share)	$ 0.08	$ 0.04
Net income per common share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.45us-gaap_EarningsPerShareBasic	$ 0.33us-gaap_EarningsPerShareBasic
INCOME PER COMMON SHARE - DILUTED:
Income from continuing operations, net (in dollars per share)	$ 0.37	$ 0.29
Income from discontinued operations, net (in dollars per share)	$ 0.08	$ 0.04
Net income per common share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.45us-gaap_EarningsPerShareDiluted	$ 0.33us-gaap_EarningsPerShareDiluted

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The amount of net income (loss) for the period per each share of common stock or unit outstanding during the reporting period.

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The amount of net income (loss) for the period available to each share of common stock or common unit outstanding during the reporting period and to each share or unit that would have been outstanding assuming the issuance of common shares or units for all dilutive potential common shares or units outstanding during the reporting period.

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Amount of income (loss) from continuing operations attributable to the parent. Also defined as revenue less expenses and taxes from ongoing operations before extraordinary items but after deduction of those portions of income or loss from continuing operations that are allocable to noncontrolling interests.

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The amount of net income (loss) from continuing operations per each share of common stock or unit outstanding during the reporting period.

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The amount of net income (loss) derived from continuing operations during the period available to each share of common stock or common unit outstanding during the reporting period and to each share or unit that would have been outstanding assuming the issuance of common shares or units for all dilutive potential common shares or units outstanding during the reporting period.

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Amount of income (loss) from a disposal group, net of income tax, reported as a separate component of income before extraordinary items after deduction or consideration of the amount allocable to noncontrolling interests. Includes, net of tax, income (loss) from operations during the phase-out period, gain (loss) on disposal, provision (or any reversals of earlier provisions) for loss on disposal, and adjustments of a prior period gain (loss) on disposal.

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Per basic share amount, after tax, of income (loss) from the day-to-day business activities of the discontinued operation and gain (loss) from the disposal of the discontinued operation.

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Per diluted share amount, after tax, of income (loss) from the day-to-day business activities of the discontinued operation and gain (loss) from the disposal of the discontinued operation.

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Additional shares included in the calculation of diluted EPS as a result of the potentially dilutive effect of share based payment arrangements using the treasury stock method.

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The portion of profit or loss for the period, net of income taxes, which is attributable to the parent.

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Net income after adjustments for dividends on preferred stock (declared in the period) and/or cumulative preferred stock (accumulated for the period).

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Net Income or Loss Available to Common Stockholders plus adjustments resulting from the assumption that dilutive convertible securities were converted, options or warrants were exercised, or that other shares were issued upon the satisfaction of certain conditions.

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Amount of earnings (loss) distributed and earnings (loss) allocated to participating securities for the basic earnings (loss) per share or per unit calculation under the two-class method.

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The amount of preferred stock dividends that is an adjustment to net income apportioned to common stockholders.

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The average number of shares or units issued and outstanding that are used in calculating diluted EPS or earnings per unit (EPU), determined based on the timing of issuance of shares or units in the period.

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Number of [basic] shares or units, after adjustment for contingently issuable shares or units and other shares or units not deemed outstanding, determined by relating the portion of time within a reporting period that common shares or units have been outstanding to the total time in that period.

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