MAN SHOT DEAD Hmm, gotta shell out Hit at Bx. playground, kin think bullets meant for another for Mario’s missing ‘M’

The missing “M” stands for money.

The state is fixing dozens of signs for the Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge because they omitted the former governor’s middle initial.

The state refuses to say what it will cost to add the ‘M’ — it stands for Matthew — to the Cuomo bridge signs. A Department of Transportation spokesman told the Journal News, which first reported the repair, that it would have to file a Freedom of Information Law request to find out.

The nearly $4 billion bridge, which spans the Hudson River between Westchester and Rockland counties, opened last year and replaces the former Tappan Zee Bridge — which was formally called the Gov. Malcolm Wilson Tappan Zee Bridge.

Changing highway signs isn’t cheap. It reportedly cost the state $4 million in 2008 to change the formal name of New York’s Triborough Bridge to the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge. A man was shot to death near a Bronx playground early Thursday in a hail of bullets that family members believe was meant for someone else.

Jamarr Vestal, 31, was found sprawled out with multiple gunshot wounds to his chest on Hall Place near E. 165th St. in Foxhurst about 12:30 a.m., around the corner from Horseshoe Playground, police said.

Investigators later discovered that Vestal had been shot outside the playground, then tried to run to a nearby deli where he collapsed, sources with knowledge of the case said.

Medics rushed the victim to Lincoln Hospital, where he died.

The slain man had left his Fordham Manor home Wednesday night to visit his aunt in Parkchester before his murder, heartbroken relatives told the Daily News.

“He was a strong, caring guy. He would always be there for you. If you needed something, he was just a call away,” said Kelsey Conway, 24, the victim’s cousin.

Vestal suffered from multiple psychiatric and health issues, which often brought on seizures and may have contributed to his death, his sister said. But his condition never made him a dangerous person, she said.

“He was never a violent person, despite his condition. Everybody loved him,” sister Ashley Williams, 29, said. “He was goofy, happy, always cracking jokes and making everyone laugh.”

Vestal often talked about working in real estate and buying a big house for his family, said relatives.

“He always tried to stay positive and was on a positive track. He always said he wanted to go to school and wanted to open a business,” Williams said. “That [Jamarr] was my heart.”

Cops were scouring the area around the playground Thursday afternoon for surveillance video that could help identify the gunman. There have been no arrests.

“I miss him so much and I can’t believe this,” Williams said. “I don’t wish bad on anybody but I hope this is on [the gunman’s] conscience.”