That part of New York can double as Chicago.
But I think it's worthwhile to listen to your language: "New York can double as Chicago" and consider how a theme park tourist with no historical knowledge of the park interprets that. It would be like someone in Anaheim saying "New Orleans Square doubles as Boston." What does it mean?
What it means is that: in the fantasy that that area of USF is a movie studio backlot
in Hollywood, we are pretending that filmmakers would sometimes film movies that take place in Chicago in that area of the backlot usually used to film movies that take place in New York.
That has some layers to it. It reminds me of the hardest-core SWGE commentators who use the land as a LARPing environment. At USF, the LARPing is of being on a Holywood movie studio backlot.
I don't want you to think I'm criticizing you or anyone who is familiar with and enjoys that fantasy. But sometimes companies (and the longest, deepest fans) can be so familiar with the product that they forget that new customers do not have the familiarity and context. The conceits they lean on simply don't exist in the minds of those new customers. It is not clear that the New York (including the section of New York that "doubles" as Chicago) area of the theme park is supposed to be a backlot while the rest of the theme park is just a theme park. Insiders, apparently, know that a big part of the park has an additional (unsubstantiated) layer.
Universal ought to clarify that, and it would be so easy. Just drag out some actual filming stuff from Hollywood and create some "filmmaking in progress" vignettes. Add some "star trailers" to the street that are actual popcorn and ice cream carts, but make it look like a movie set. Have recordings of actors inside the trailers practicing their lines or arguing. Label the bathroom entrance as "Hair and Make-Up." There are plenty of cliches associated with Hollywood (the concept, the industry) to riff on.
I'm not disappointed when theme park companies don't spend hundreds of millions of dollars on big new attractions. I'm disappointed when they fail to spend a million dollars clarifying the entire concept of their park -- which is the justification for all sorts of odd compromises, confusing thematic conflicts, and cost-savings (like using unadorned sound stages). Spend a tiny bit to contextualize all that adequately and I'm willing to go along with the fantasy.
Bottom line; The name of the park is Universal Studios....and just like the sets in various film studios....anything and everything
can be altered and interpreted to fit the production (rides, attractions, etc.). That's the beauty of the park's name/concept.
Bottom line, they need to spend a tiny bit of money
inside the park to have that privilege.