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VORNADO REALTY TRUST

For the period ended May 22, 2025. Filed Apr 8, 2025.

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What shareholders are asked to vote on at a company's meeting. It is where to find what directors and top executives are paid, and who owns the most shares.

May 22, 2025 · Filed Apr 8, 2025

VNO$35.82-0.1%Stored close · as of Nov 6, 2026
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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

SCHEDULE 14A

Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of

the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Amendment No. )

Filed by the Registrant

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Filed by a Party other than the Registrant

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Check the appropriate box:

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Preliminary Proxy Statement

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Confidential, for Use of the Commission Only (as permitted by Rule 14a-6(e)(2))

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Definitive Proxy Statement

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Definitive Additional Materials

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Soliciting Material under §240.14a-12

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VORNADO REALTY TRUST

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(Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

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(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if other than the Registrant)

Payment of Filing Fee (Check the appropriate box):

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No fee required.

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Fee paid previously with preliminary materials.

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Fee computed on table in exhibit required by Item 25(b) per Exchange Act Rules 14a6(i)(1) and 0-11.

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888 Seventh Avenue

New York, New York 10019

Notice of Annual Meeting of Shareholders to Be Held on May 22, 2025

To our Shareholders:

The 2025 Annual Meeting of Shareholders (the “Annual Meeting”) of Vornado Realty Trust, a Maryland real estate investment trust (“Vornado”, “we”, “us”, “our” or the “Company”), will be held virtually, via the Internet, on Thursday, May 22, 2025, beginning at 11:30 A.M., New York City time, for the following purposes:

(1)

To consider and vote upon the election of 10 persons to the Board of Trustees of the Company, each to serve until the 2026 Annual Meeting of Shareholders of the Company and until his or her successor is duly elected and qualified.

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(2)

To consider and vote upon the ratification of the appointment of Deloitte & Touche LLP as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm for the current fiscal year.

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(3)

To consider and vote upon the approval of a non-binding, advisory resolution on executive compensation as described in the Proxy Statement.

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(4)

To transact any other business as may properly come before the meeting and any postponement or adjournment of the Annual Meeting.

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The Board of Trustees of the Company has fixed the close of business on March 24, 2025, as the record date for the determination of shareholders entitled to notice of, and to vote at, the meeting.

To attend the virtual 2025 Annual Meeting, you will need to accesswww.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/VNO2025 and enter the 16-digit control number found on your proxy card, voting instruction form or Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials. There is no physical location for the Annual Meeting. We encourage you to allow ample time for online check-in, which will begin at 11:15 A.M. New York City time. Additional details regarding how to participate in the Annual Meeting can be accessed at the Company’s website, www.vno.com or atwww.proxyvote.com. For further information on how to attend and participate in the meeting please see “Questions and Answers About the Annual Meeting, How do you attend, vote and ask questions during the meeting?”

Please review the accompanying Proxy Statement and proxy card or voting instruction form. Whether or not you plan to attend the meeting, it is important that your shares be represented and voted. You may authorize your proxy through the Internet or by touch-tone telephone as described on the proxy card or voting instruction form. Alternatively, you may sign the proxy card or voting instruction form and return it in accordance with the instructions included with the proxy card or voting instruction form. You may revoke your proxy by (1) timely executing and submitting a later-dated proxy card or voting instruction form, (2) subsequently authorizing a proxy through the Internet or by telephone, (3) timely sending a written revocation of proxy to our Secretary at our principal executive office located at 888 Seventh Avenue, New York, New York 10019, or (4) attending the meeting and voting via the Internet (but your attendance at the virtual Annual Meeting will not automatically revoke your proxy unless you validly vote again during the Annual Meeting). To be effective, later-dated proxy cards, voting instruction forms, proxies authorized via the Internet or telephone, or written revocations of proxies must be received by us by 11:59 P.M., New York City time, on Wednesday, May 21, 2025.

By Order of the Board of Trustees,

Steven J. Borenstein

Secretary

April 8, 2025

​​VORNADO REALTY TRUST​​​ii​​
​2025 PROXY STATEMENT SUMMARY​

Company Overview

Vornado Realty Trust (“Vornado”, “we”, “us”, “our,” or the “Company”) is a fully integrated Maryland real estate investment trust (“REIT”) with a collection of premier assets and a focused strategy of maintaining its leading positions in New York City Class A office and retail. While concentrated in New York, Vornado also has premier office assets in Chicago and San Francisco, and maintains a 32.4% interest in Alexander’s, Inc. (“Alexander’s”) (NYSE: ALX), which owns five properties in the greater New York metropolitan area. Vornado is a real estate industry leader in sustainability, owning and operating more than 27 million square feet of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified buildings, representing 100% of our certifiable office portfolio, with over 24 million square feet at LEED Gold or Platinum.

Our business objective is to maximize shareholder value. We intend to achieve this objective by continuing to pursue our investment philosophy and to execute our operating strategies through:

Maintaining a superior team of operating and investment professionals and an entrepreneurial spirit;

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Investing in properties in select markets, such as New York City, where we believe there is a high likelihood of capital appreciation;

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Acquiring quality properties at a discount to replacement cost and where there is a significant potential for higher rents;

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Developing and redeveloping properties to increase returns and maximize value; and

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Investing in operating companies that have a significant real estate component.

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Exceptional 2024 Share Performance:

​​iii​​​VORNADO REALTY TRUST​​
​2025 PROXY STATEMENT SUMMARY​

2024 Business Highlights

During 2024, we made significant progress executing on our goals and positioning Vornado for future growth, accomplishing the following strategic initiatives:

We leased approximately 3.4 million square feet in 2024 (2.4 million square feet at share), including the Bloomberg L.P. renewal at 731 Lexington Avenue, an increase of 24% over last year. Our 2.7 million of office square footage was leased at a market leading $104 per square feet average initial rents.

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We leased 1.4 million square feet at over $100 per square foot average initial rents.

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We continued the redevelopment of THE PENN DISTRICT, positioning Vornado to capitalize on the enormous opportunity we have on the West Side of Manhattan, including:

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Completion of PENN 2 (1.8 million square feet as expanded), on top of Penn Station, New York’s main transportation hub—the largest rail hub in North America.

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Entered into a lease for Manhattan’s first Primark, in THE PENN DISTRICT.

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Continued leasing of retail space at the newly expanded Long Island Rail Road Concourse.

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Readied PENN 15 site, with plans to develop a premier office tower on the site.

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We entered into an agreement to sell UNIQLO the portion of its flagship store at 666 Fifth Avenue owned by Vornado’s retail joint venture for $350 million (transaction closed in January 2025).

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Refinanced $2.0 billion of mortgage loans in 2024.

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Executed a new $915 million unsecured revolving credit facility maturing in 2029, replacing the $1.25 billion facility that was due to mature in April 2026.

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Entered into over $850 million of interest rate swap arrangements.

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Became the first major U.S. real estate owner and operator to achieve 100% LEED certification across our entire portfolio of certifiable buildings and received the following accolades:

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GRESB’s five-star rating and an assessment score of 92, placing us in the top 3% within Americas/​Listed, and the “Green Star” distinction for the twelfth consecutive year,

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the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts’ (“NAREIT”) inaugural “The Impact at Scale Award,” for implementing operational initiatives in THE PENN DISTRICT that advance corporate sustainability and deliver measurable impact, and

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were recognized as an EPA ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year with the distinction of having demonstrated nine years of sustained excellence.

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At our 2024 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, our say-on-pay proposal received the support of approximately 57% of our common shares of beneficial interest, par value $0.04 per share (“Shares”). This result was below the level of support for our recent prior annual say-on-pay votes. Our Board values shareholder feedback and we engaged in a robust shareholder outreach program in response to the vote. Since our 2024 Annual Meeting, we spoke with shareholders representing approximately 68% of our outstanding Shares (as of December 31, 2024). Our Lead Independent Trustee and/or the Chairman of our Compensation Committee participated in conversations with several of our largest shareholders.

In addition to our engagements and discussions in the ordinary course of business, we engaged directly with our investors in various forums and conferences.

The key topics discussed with shareholders related to the June 2023 Equity Awards and the Development Fee Pool, each of which are described in more detail below under “Compensation Discussion and Analysis—​Description of Awards”. The following table summarizes key topics discussed with shareholders during our recent 2024 and 2025 engagement process, the feedback we received and the actions taken in response:

​​VORNADO REALTY TRUST​​​iv​​
​2025 PROXY STATEMENT SUMMARY​
​​​​​What we Heard​​​How we Responded​
​June 2023 Awards​​​• Several of our shareholders that voted against our 2024 say-on-pay proposal expressed to us that their vote was a one-time registration of disapproval given the adoption of two unique programs—the June 2023 Equity Awards and the Development Fee Pool—in the same year. However, they understood the rationale for each of these programs and did not see the need for structural changes to such programs since they have already been adopted. ​ • Other shareholders expressed that they generally understood the rationale for frontloading equity awards through the June 2023 Equity Awards given the difficult climate for office REITs in early 2023 and retention issues that the Company faced, and recognized that the plan has been very effective at retention, with the Company retaining all key employees and over 95% of total plan participants since June 2023. ​ • While shareholders generally appreciated that the June 2023 Equity Awards were frontloaded awards rather than additive, special awards, certain shareholders expressed their preference that this structure not be repeated on a regular basis going forward. ​​​​• The Compensation Committee maintained its commitment and did not grant any equity awards to named executive officers (“NEOs”) (or other June 2023 Equity Award recipients) in 2024 or 2025. ​ • The Compensation Committee recognizes shareholders’ expressed preference to generally not issue additive special awards and understands that shareholders generally prefer the use of annual equity awards compared to frontloaded grants. The Compensation Committee intends to take such feedback into account in designing future compensation programs. ​​
​Development Fee Pool​​​• A few shareholders expressed concern that the Development Fee Pool could lead to potential conflicts of interest with management incentivized to enter into joint ventures for future development projects, rather than develop the projects solely on the Company’s balance sheet. ​ • Certain shareholders were dissatisfied that all 2023 Development Fee Pool allocations were made to NEOs and they expressed a preference that future allocations be distributed to a broader group of employees. ​​​​• The Company has committed that all joint venture transactions providing for development fees payable to the Company must be approved by the Company’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”), which will determine if the proposed joint venture transaction, taken as a whole, is in the best interests of the Company. ​ • The Compensation Committee intends to include non-NEOs that work on and support our new developments in future Development Fee Pool allocations. ​​
​​v​​​VORNADO REALTY TRUST​​
​2025 PROXY STATEMENT SUMMARY​

The following graphic summarizes the performance periods and outcomes for our recent performance-based equity grants. The performance hurdles for the Outperformance Plan (“OPP”) awards granted in each of 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2020 and the performance-conditioned appreciation-only operating partnership (“Performance AO LTIP”) awards granted in 2019 did not meet the applicable performance condition and accordingly each of those awards were forfeited in their entirety. For purposes of the table below, we measured the Company’s absolute and relative performance under the 2022 Long-Term Performance Plan (“LTPP”) as of its final measurement period in January 2025. We measured the 2023 LTPP as of December 31, 2024, though the actual number of units that will be earned will depend on actual performance through the end of the applicable measurement period. The “required price to begin earning” set forth below represents the adjusted Share price after reflecting adjustments for the Company’s spin-offs of Urban Edge and JBG Smith.

Recent Long-Term Performance Plan Performance

2021 OPP

Our 2021 OPP provided participants the opportunity to earn equity awards if Vornado achieved certain absolute total shareholder returns and/or outperformed a benchmark weighted index of other office and retail real estate companies. At the completion of the final measurement period in January 2025, Vornado’s total shareholder return (“TSR”) over the measurement period was 36.4% compared to a 9.14% return for the weighted peer index during such period, resulting in a total of 827,644 OPP units earned (including units issued in respect of dividend accruals), representing approximately 68% of the maximum potential 1,219,354 OPP units that were issued in January 2021.

2022 LTPP

Our 2022 LTPP provided participants the opportunity to earn equity awards based on operational and relative TSR performance. 50% of the LTPP units were eligible to be earned based on our relative TSR performance over a three-year period ending in January 2025 and 50% were eligible to be earned based on the achievement of specified operating/sustainability performance measures over a one-year period ending December 31, 2022, in each case with further modifiers based on the Company’s absolute TSR over a three-year period. Upon completion of the final measurement period in January 2025, and taking into account awards in respect of operational performance that were already issued in April 2023, a total of 240,027 LTPP units were earned, representing approximately 64% of the maximum potential 377,494 LTPP units that were eligible to be earned by plan participants.

​​VORNADO REALTY TRUST​​​vi​​
​2025 PROXY STATEMENT SUMMARY​

Executive Compensation Philosophy

Our compensation program is based on a pay-for-performance philosophy and is designed to incentivize executives to achieve financial and strategic goals that are aligned with the Company’s long-term business strategy and the creation of sustained, long-term value for our shareholders.

The objectives of the program include:

​RETAIN​​​​a highly experienced, “best-in-class” team of executives who have worked together as a team for a long period of time and who make major contributions to our success.​
​ATTRACT​​​​other highly qualified executives to strengthen that team as needed.​
​MOTIVATE​​​​our executives to contribute to the achievement of company-wide and business-unit goals as well as to pursue individual goals.​
​EMPHASIZE​​​​equity-based incentives with long-term performance measurement periods and vesting conditions.​
​ALIGN​​​​the interests of executives with shareholders by linking payouts under annual incentives to performance measures that promote the creation of long-term shareholder value.​
​ACHIEVE​​​​an appropriate balance between risk and reward in our compensation programs that does not encourage excessive or inappropriate risk-taking.​
​​vii​​​VORNADO REALTY TRUST​​
​2025 PROXY STATEMENT SUMMARY​

Board and Committee Refreshment

Over the last nine years, we have added four new independent Trustees, comprising 40% of our Board: Ms. Hamza Bassey, Mr. Helman, Mr. McGuire and Ms. Puri.

We are also focused on committee rotation and have made committee assignment changes in recent years. In 2020, we appointed Ms. Puri as Chair of the Audit Committee, in 2021 we added Ms. Hamza Bassey to the Compensation Committee, in 2022 we added Ms. Hamza Bassey to the Audit Committee and in 2023 we added Mr. McGuire to the Compensation Committee.

As demonstrated by our Board’s actions over the past several years, we remain committed to ongoing Board refreshment and will continue to pursue qualified, candidates with diverse skills for election to our Board.

The following charts summarize the composition of our Board following our recent refreshment:

In the past six years, our Board added three new independent Trustees:

Ms. Hamza Bassey joined our Board in 2020. She is currently Advisor to the Board of Directors of Atlas Mara Ltd, and previously served as the Group General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer and Corporate Secretary of Atlas Mara Ltd., an African-focused banking group. She has brought to the Board legal, investment, financial and international experience.

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Mr. Helman joined our Board in 2019. He is a general partner at Greylock Partners and has brought to the Board investment, technology, private equity, capital markets, and public company board experience.

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Mr. McGuire joined our Board in 2022. He is President of Lazard, Inc. and was previously Vice Chairman of Citigroup and Chairman of Citi’s Banking, Capital Markets and Advisory business and brings investment, financial, capital markets and strategic experience.

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We believe that the balance of skills and experiences of our Board members, enhanced by the fresh perspectives brought by our newer Trustees, and the industry and company-specific expertise and institutional knowledge of our longer-tenured Trustees, provide substantive support for the Board’s oversight of the Company’s business and strategy. In combination with Board refreshment, we have also rotated committee memberships to bring new perspectives to committees.

​​VORNADO REALTY TRUST​​​viii​​
​2025 PROXY STATEMENT SUMMARY​

Sustainability, People and Governance Highlights

Our Board is committed to sound governance practices designed to promote the long-term interests of shareholders and to strengthen Board and management accountability. Many of these governance practices were influenced by and responsive to shareholder feedback over the years.

​BOARD OF TRUSTEES​
​✓ Highly engaged, experienced Board with diverse skills and expertise ​ ✓ Commitment to Board refreshment ​ ✓ 80% of the Board is independent and independent Trustees conduct regular executive sessions ​ ✓ 30% of our Board members are female and 30% are racially/ethnically diverse ​ ✓ Lead Independent Trustee with significant authority and responsibility ​ ✓ Annual Board and committee self-evaluations ​ ✓ Annual review of Board leadership structure ​ ✓ Robust share ownership guidelines that align the interests of Trustees with those of our shareholders ​ ✓ Three of our Board members each own more than 1% of our Shares ​ ✓ Actively engaged in strategic, risk and management oversight, including cybersecurity matters ​ ✓ Active approach to management succession planning ​ ✓ Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee oversees our sustainability initiatives and the full Board receives sustainability presentations from management on a regular basis ​ ✓ Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee oversees and monitors internal compliance with ethical and employee policies ​ ✓ Strictly restrict political contributions on behalf of the Company and compliance with that policy is subject to the oversight of the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee; Consistent with Vornado’s past practices, we did not make any direct political contributions to candidate campaigns in 2024 ​​
​GOVERNANCE PRACTICES​
​✓ Robust and ongoing shareholder engagement program and demonstrated responsiveness to feedback ​ ✓ Annual Trustee elections and committee appointments ​ ✓ Market standard proxy access ​ ✓ Shareholders may amend our Bylaws ​ ✓ Annual say-on-pay voting ​ ✓ Trustee resignation policy in uncontested elections for failure to receive a greater number of “for” votes than “withhold” votes ​ ✓ No poison pill ​ ✓ Declaration of Trust may be amended by a majority vote of the Board and a majority vote of outstanding shares (excluding limited provisions to protect REIT tax status and removal of Trustees) ​​
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​2025 PROXY STATEMENT SUMMARY​
​COMPENSATION PRACTICES​
​✓ Significant portion of long-term compensation is in the form of performance-based equity, which requires the achievement of significant performance hurdles to have any value ​ ✓ 2022 and 2023 executive compensation program incorporated sustainability metrics in the LTPPs ​ ✓ In addition to our claw-back policy required by New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) rules, we have an enhanced claw-back policy, subject to the oversight of the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee, that also provides for potential claw-backs for violations of Company policies as well as for bad faith or dishonest actions or receipt of an improper personal benefit ​ ✓ Formula-driven annual bonus plan cap ​ ✓ Actual Total Realized Compensation of our Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) and other NEOs is aligned with actual Share performance ​ ✓ Anti-hedging and anti-pledging policies ​ ✓ Our equity plans have a double-trigger equity acceleration upon a change of control ​ ✓ No excessive perks and no retirement plan other than a 401(k) ​ ✓ No tax gross-ups ​ ✓ CEO is required to hold Company equity having a value equal to at least 6x his salary and each of our other NEOs is required to hold Company equity with a value equal to at least 3x such executive’s salary ​​
​​VORNADO REALTY TRUST​​​x​​
​2025 PROXY STATEMENT SUMMARY​
​SUSTAINABILITY, PEOPLE AND GOVERNANCE​
​✓ Industry-leading sustainability program ​ ✓ The first major U.S. real estate owner and operator to achieve 100% LEED certification across our entire portfolio of certifiable buildings ​ ✓ EPA ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year Award with Sustained Excellence received nine times ​ ✓ Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark Green Star Ranking in every year since 2013, with an “A” grade for our public disclosure ​ ✓ NAREIT’s The Impact at Scale Award in 2024 ​ ✓ Reporting pursuant to SASB framework in Sustainability report, examined by third party and furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission on a Form 8-K filing ​ ✓ Signatory of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures ​ ✓ Respondent to Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) beginning in 2021 ​ ✓ Comprehensive medical, vision and dental insurance, 401(k) employer match and HSA contributions ​ ✓ A stipend for employees expanding family through adoption, surrogacy or IVF to assist with costs not covered by medical insurance ​ ✓ Employee wellness programs and incentives ​ ✓ Strong Code of Business Conduct and Ethics applies to all Trustees, executive officers and employees ​ ✓ Employee policies and manuals prohibit discrimination, bribes, money laundering and other corruption ​ ✓ Restrictions on conflicts of interest ​ ✓ Established and circulated straight-forward procedures for reporting any policy violations or other wrongdoing ​ ✓ Comply with all applicable laws and regulations regarding employing child labor, respecting human rights and not purchasing conflict minerals ​ ✓ Refreshed and renewed anti-harassment policy ​ ✓ Through our volunteer program, Vornado Volunteers, employees are granted one day of paid time off per calendar year to volunteer for a cause of their choice ​​

Please also see our Chairman’s Letter that can be found on our website atwww.vno.com/chairmansletter. Our Chairman’s Letter is not a part of, or incorporated by reference in, this Proxy Statement.

ContentsView on SEC.gov

The text of this filing, as the company filed it with the SEC, without its images or exhibits. This is not investment advice.