conducting a study on the building's current use and services, and the following October, Body Lawson, Ben Paul Associated Architects and Planners published the Riverside Church Master Plan. The plan included a major addition on Riverside Church's eastern side, consisting of the relocation of the Claremont Avenue entrance, paving of the forecourt, reconfiguration of the cloister lobby, and construction of a seven-story building over the gymnasium. This plan was controversial among congregants, some of whom petitioned the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (NYCLPC) to designate the church to prevent the alteration of the original appearance of the Claremont Avenue entrance. In December 1998, the congregation voted to officially nominate the church for landmark status. Only the original church building was nominated; the nomination excluded the Martin Luther King Jr. Wing, despite preservationists' requests for the entire structure to be considered for landmark designation. The NYCLPC approved landmark status for the original church in May 2000. 21st century Two controversies involving Riverside Church arose in the early 2000s; an allegation of sexual abuse by the director of a basketball program at the church and an allegation of financial mismanagement due to a $32 million decrease in the endowment between 2000 and 2002. The accused basketball director resigned in 2002 while the accusation of financial mismanagement was prolonged through several years of court cases, although the New York Supreme Court had dismissed a lawsuit over the topic. Forbes announced his retirement in September 2006 and held his last sermon in June 2007. By that time, the church had 2,700 congregants, a large proportion of whom were black and Hispanic. The church had a $14 million annual operating budget and a paid staff of 130. Another nationwide, year-long search for a new senior minister commenced and in August 2008, it was announced Brad Braxton had been selected as the sixth senior minister of Riverside Church. Braxton's tenure was marked by theological disputes; congregants disagreed whether the church should take a fundamentalist or progressive position, as well as a lawsuit over his salary, which a church spokesperson stated was $457,000. In June 2009, Braxton submitted a letter of resignation due to these disputes. For the next five years, Riverside Church had no senior minister and in 2014, its congregation had decreased to 1,670, a loss of over a thousand since 2007. In 2012, the church and its annexes were listed on the National