zvxr:nws:metrognome7-15:

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In the Bible, God unleashed a plague of frogs on the Egyptians because they enslaved the Jews. On a once-quiet street in Brooklyn, neighbors are wondering what they did to get the same punishment.

For the second straight summer, the frogs are back on 13th Street in Park Slope, driving residents mad with nightly mating calls that are so loud that closing the windows and turning on the air conditioner has little effect.

"It's unbearable," said one resident of the block, who no longer uses his backyard on hot, humid nights (which apparently inflame the hearts of romance-minded toads more than cool nights). Another neighbor said his teenage son can't sleep in his own room anymore. Still a third neighbor said that police were recently called because someone on the block -- hearing the frogs in heat -- thought a kid was being molested (if only Kitty Genovese's backyard had been filled by horny toads).

We're not talking about a few "ribbit, ribbit"s or some gentle country croaking here; we're talking about mating calls that sound like a cat and a cow are engaged in a sumo-wrestling match being refereed by a really ornery gecko. You never heard a noise like this.

"It's so loud because the frogs are warning other frogs how big and aggressive they are," explained Frank Indiviglio, reptile keeper at The Bronx Zoo. ""

This would be a quirky little story about a slice of country living in the big city -- like that rooster who's still crowing in Grand Army Plaza -- except for one thing: The toads of 13th Street are a man-made environmental blight.

It all started two summers ago when a new resident dug a pond in her backyard. Within weeks, the backyard became a singles bar for randy toads.

"And it's much worse this summer," said one neighbor, who lost a rent-paying tenant because of all the noise. 

Neighbors said they've spoken to the woman who dug the pond only to be told to buzz off. This is America, after all, where every man's home is his castle and every woman's backyard is her Wild Reptile Kingdom.

So I called the Frog Lady of 13th Street -- whose identity I will begrudgingly protect because she has not been charged with any crime (although perhaps not for long; the Health Department confirmed that it is "investigating"). The Frog Lady deflected her neighbors complaints by complaining about her neighbors.

"I really don't understand people who complain about something like this," she said.

But upon further questioning, Frog Lady admitted that "maybe the pond is attracting frogs, but so what?" She said that "plenty of neighbors" say they love the nightly Love Serenade of the Green Toad. She promised that some of them would call me to provide balance for my story. 

Let the record show: I'm still waiting for even one pro-frog call.

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gersh.kuntzman@verizon.net