It is one of the distinct pleasures of urban life to be able to wake up on an otherwise fine summer morning, make yourself a cup of coffee, then choke on it at the sight of the front page of your local tabloid. But the cover of The New York Post on Thursday — the 28th anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act — was more shocking than usual. It promoted a damaging misperception about people with disabilities, on a day better suited to celebrating their progress in one of the most neglected areas of American civil rights.

The print edition’s headline, “WALK OF SHAME,” followed by the clarifying “‘Handicapped’ man suing NYC businesses spotted not using wheelchair,” told the story. A photo of a surprised-looking man — Arik Matatov of Queens, N.Y., standing in the doorway of his home — covered the page.

Mr. Matatov, The Post reported, had been threatening New York City businesses with lawsuits for not complying with A.D.A. accessibility requirements, demanding through a lawyer that they pay him $50,000 and pledge to build an access ramp, or else face a multimillion-dollar suit under the law. He reportedly visited these businesses in a wheelchair, claiming he was personally prevented from accessing them.

The new photos of Mr. Matatov standing were evidence, readers were to believe, that he wasn’t really disabled.