POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. — Workers in downtown Poughkeepsie slowly and carefully demolished buildings on Academy Street on Tuesday, after Monday's collapse of a century-old, vacant seven-story building.

Monday afternoon's collapse sent bricks and debris raining onto two buildings next to the seven-story building, which was likely damaged by a five-minute burst of severe weather, officials said.

Two people were injured during the collapse.

One person was immediately removed and taken to the hospital with minor injuries, while another — a local business owner — remained trapped beneath debris for more than four hours until she was freed, Mayor Rob Rolison said at the scene on Tuesday.

The woman who was trapped has been identified as Rotanya Hargrove, owner of Hottie's Boutique, who customers affectionately call "Ms. Hottie."

Mayor Rolison met with Hargrove on Monday night and Tuesday afternoon in her hospital room, and said she is doing quite well even though she suffered a broken leg from falling debris, and that she "kept asking about the firefighter who spent so much time with her" while others removed debris to free her.

A friend of the family told Spectrum News that Hargrove was sitting with her legs crossed when debris fell on top of her, putting her in an awkward and painful position while being trapped for more than four hours.

Mayor Rolison said the "collapse zone" will not be secure until parts of the damaged buildings are torn down.

He also said contractors and city workers are carefully planning their approach to demolishing the top three floors of the seven-story building that originally collapsed, to avoid further property damage and injuries in that high-traffic area in the city's downtown. 

All tenants of apartment buildings on the block, as well as all employees of businesses and nonprofits, were evacuated and may not be able to return for a week or more, according to the fire chief.

Community Action of Dutchess County CEO Elizabeth Spira said on Tuesday that the building inspector advised her that her employees may not be able to return to their Cannon Street location for two weeks.

"I’m OK with it, because I have no choice but to be OK with it," Spira said. "Can’t do anything about a tragedy that strikes suddenly."

Spira said her employees moved to another location owned by the agency, located across the street.

Commuters said Tuesday morning's rush hour was a headache as four city blocks are blocked to traffic, leaving drivers to navigate the city's one-way streets to get to their destinations.

Officials on scene said it may be up to a week before those streets reopen.

Contractors had been planning to begin demolishing the seven-story building's top three floors on Tuesday, but plans changed, and that demolition may happen on Wednesday.