The reader finds out a lot about Paul Williams in the first chapter of the novel The Young Landlords. In the first few paragraphs, the reader finds out Paul is quite a brave person (although maybe a little reckless). At thirteen, two years before, he approached the school bully and told him to stop bothering other people. He says the school bully looked at him like a martian for a second and then hit him.

The next thing we find out about Paul is that two years later, at the age of fifteen (the time the story is set), he forms what he calls an action group with his friends Gloria, Dean, Omar, and Jeanie. Their first task is to sort out a building called the Stratford building.

At this point the reader finds out that Paul lives near 122nd street in Harlem New York. His friend Omar talks about the oppressive conditions that the Stratford building is contributing to, so it's likely that he lives in a poor area.

When they approach the owner of the Stratford building, the reader finds out that Paul is not only fifteen, but he is the oldest in his group. He was born in March while the other were born in either the summer or the fall.