BUFFALO, N.Y. — Following intense backlash, Buffalo Common Council delayed a vote on new district lines Thursday.

It comes after more than 100 people came to a meeting Tuesday to voice their concerns, but the city still scheduled a vote only days later.

“How have they fully considered everyone's opinions? Have they fully read all the emails and the public comments that people have given them?" questioned Leighton Jones, a member of Our City Action Buffalo.

"Well now you have more time," interrupted Spectrum News 1 reporter Viktoria Hallikäär. "Because they postponed the meeting."

"Did they?" asked Jones.

"They did," Hallikäär responded.

"I didn't see that," exclaimed Jones.

Jones was one of handful of residents on Thursday asking the council to take some more time before voting on new district lines.

He said nothing about the redistricting process and meeting was communicated properly to the public.

When he learned it was postponed, he was shocked, but in the best way.

"That is a complete win for Our City Action Buffalo and it's a complete win for the city residents, the people who reside here, our community," said Jones. "They deserve to have the input they deserve to be heard."

Jones' reaction came right after a press conference wrapped up about residents’ disapproval of how quickly they felt the new map was being pushed through and complaints about the new lines themselves.

They are calling the process “secretive.”

Speakers said the way new maps were drawn takes power away from the people, especially Black communities, through gerrymandering.

A few people brought up the tragedy on May 14.

One said all these council members came out and wanted things to change and to be more equitable, but then did the opposite, and so news from Council President Darius Pridgen that the meeting was pushed was welcomed with open arms.

“To every person who gave up their Thursday, who responded in kind and spoke for people who did not have the opportunity to speak for themselves, today belongs to you," said Harper Bishop, the interim director of Our City Action Buffalo. "It does not belong to our Common Council members who continue to take a reactionary posture and treat the people of Buffalo as though they are newest nuisances, instead of respected members of this community.”

There are still questions that activists are looking for answers to, including what will a new map look like, should there be more council seats and will representatives make sure the public has time to review and respond properly.

Either way, they say if their voices aren’t heard, they won’t stop speaking, either out in from of City Hall or at the polls.

“The win comes when we go back to the drawing board, and we have maps that truly represent all of Buffalo," said community activist India Walton. "That's the win that I'm looking for.”

Yet to be determined is when a new meeting will be held on this issue.