Long Islander sets Guinness World Record with marshmallow mosaic

Towering over the crowd, Andy Gertler’s marshmallow mosaic was finally completed after eight hours of building at Manhattan’s Times Square on Wednesday night.

Gertler, a professional sculptor from Sea Cliff who’s mastered pumpkin carving, sand and ice sculpting, was among the New Yorkers given a chance to break a Guinness World Record.

Using 14,400 marshmallows, Gertler set the record for the world’s largest marshmallow mosaic — a 100-square-foot depiction of “Good Morning America” weatherman Sam Champion.

“Something could’ve gone wrong, but I knew we’d get it. We pulled it off,” said Gertler, 54, who had five artists help him. “I was confident I’d break it from the help I received.”

To celebrate truTV’s season premiere of “Guinness World Records Unleashed,” which aired Thursday night, the network and Guinness World Records gave Gertler and other New Yorkers an opportunity to set new world records in Times Square on Wednesday.

“Guinness World Records Unleashed” adjudicator Stuart Claxton ensured official recognition of any records broken during the day, according to truTV’s website, adding that other attempted challenges included "Most Seated Free Throws in One Minute, "Fastest 20-Meter Butt Scoot” and “Fastest Time Building a 20-Shot Glass Pyramid.”

Thursday morning, Gertler and “Good Morning America” host Josh Elliott surprised Champion by revealing the record-setting portrait.

“Oh, he loved it,” Gertler said. “I mean, he started eating it during the segment.”

The record was never attempted before, but Gertler said Guinness gave him guidelines of how big it had to be — 80 square feet, so he made it 100 square feet.

“I walked away from this experience like with everything else in life; you have to be prepared and know what you’re going in there to do,” he said. “I was confident all the way through. I had good people working on it with me and it went off flawlessly.”