Income Per Share (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 Share [Abstract]
Income (loss) from continuing operations, net of income attributable to noncontrolling interests									$ 711,240	$ 312,700	$ (56,727)
Income from discontinued operations, net of income attributable to noncontrolling interests									49,194	552,152	532,698
Net income attributable to Vornado									760,434	864,852	475,971
Preferred share dividends									(80,578)	(81,464)	(82,807)
Preferred unit and share redemptions									0	0	(1,130)
Net income attributable to common shareholders	$ 230,742	$ 198,870	$ 165,651	$ 84,593	$ 513,238	$ 131,159	$ 76,642	$ 62,349	679,856	783,388	392,034
Earnings allocated to unvested participating securities									(81)	(125)	(110)
Numerator for basic income per share									679,775	783,263	391,924
Convertible preferred share dividends									91	97	0
Numerator for diluted income per share									$ 679,866	$ 783,360	$ 391,924
Denominator for basic income per share - weighted average shares (in shares)									188,353	187,572	186,941
Employee stock options and restricted share awards (in shares)									1,166	1,075	768
Convertible preferred shares									45	43	0
Denominator for diluted income per share - weighted average shares and assumed conversions (in shares)									189,564	188,690	187,709
INCOME (LOSS) PER COMMON SHARE - BASIC:
Income (loss) from continuing operations, net (in dollars per share)									$ 3.35	$ 1.23	$ (0.75)
Income from discontinued operations, net (in dollars per share)									0.26	2.95	2.85
Net income per common share - Basic (in dollars per share)	$ 1.22	$ 1.05	$ 0.88	$ 0.45	$ 2.73	$ 0.70	$ 0.41	$ 0.33	3.61	4.18	2.10
INCOME (LOSS) PER COMMON SHARE - DILUTED:
Income (loss) from continuing operations, net (in dollars per share)									3.33	1.22	(0.75)
Income from discontinued operations, net (in dollars per share)									0.26	2.93	2.84
Net income per common share - Diluted (in dollars per share)	$ 1.22	$ 1.05	$ 0.87	$ 0.45	$ 2.72	$ 0.69	$ 0.41	$ 0.33	$ 3.59	$ 4.15	$ 2.09